Day-tripped
POSTED: Wednesday, March 11, 2009
RENO, Nev. » Unlike previous instances when Hawaii saw late leads slip away, the Rainbows won't get a chance to atone for this one.
| FRESNO ST. | 62 |
| Hawaii (M) | 58 |
|
———
HAWAII (W)
|
70
|
| SJSU | 57 |
NEXT UP
WAC men
At Nevada, all times Hawaii time Yesterday
|
Fresno State outscored Hawaii 10-1 in the final 1:32 to come from behind for a 62-58 victory last night in the play-in game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament at the Lawlor Events Center.
Sylvester Seay scored 16 points and Dwight O'Neil, who missed both loses against Hawaii this season while serving a suspension, chipped in 14 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Bulldogs (13-20), who will play top-seeded Utah State in the quarterfinals tomorrow.
The Rainbows (13-17) ended their season with five straight loses and their fifth consecutive defeat in the WAC tournament.
“;It's very difficult to beat a team three times,”; Hawaii coach Bob Nash said. “;Our guys had control of the game for 39 minutes and we made some mistakes in that last minute that perhaps cost us the game.”;
Roderick Flemings had 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Kareem Nitoto added 15 points and six boards, but they got little help from their teammates.
Hiram Thompson, Petras Balocka and Bill Amis, combined to go 5-for-22 from the field.
Despite that, the 'Bows were in control nearly the entire game before the Bulldogs' late run. Hawaii led 57-52 when Fresno State scored on an out-of-bounds play to pull within 3. Hawaii then turned it over on its inbounds pass as Flemings tried to throw the ball to Nitoto, who wasn't looking.
Mychal Ladd buried a 3-pointer to tie the game at 57. Amis hit one of two free throws to give Hawaii its final lead, but O'Neil came back with a step-back jumper with 21 seconds left to give Fresno State its first lead since the 12:12 mark in the first half.
On the ensuing play, Nitoto drove to the basket, but was called for a charge on the 6-foot-9 Seay.
“;Maybe it was my first (charge) of the year, but I took it,”; Seay said.
Ladd hit two free throws to put Fresno State up by three with 10 seconds left. Flemings' last-ditch 3-point attempt didn't draw iron and Brandon Sperling hit one of two free throws to ice it.
“;It's happened probably enough against us to be able to believe that (we) could win this ball game,”; Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland said.
Nitoto and Flemings combined for 22 of Hawaii's 28 first-half points. Flemings got his 10 points in the first 10 minutes, while Nitoto poured it on late. His back-to-back 3's put Hawaii up 23-15, and he closed the half with a driving lay-up at the buzzer to give the 'Bows a 28-23 halftime lead.
Hawaii had a chance to take the last shot of the half, but Thompson missed a shot with 10 seconds remaining and Lasha Parghalava fouled Ladd in the open court to give Fresno State two cheap free throws to pull within 3 before Nitoto's shot.
Fresno State went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal and Hawaii had six steals and nine offensive rebounds in the first half. Fresno State stayed close, thanks to five blocks as Hawaii shot 34 percent (11-for-32) from the field.
“;We had some screwups at the end of the half, but for the most part you have to give them credit,”; Nash said. “;They did what they needed to do.”;
Fresno State 62, Hawaii 58
BULLDOGS (13-20, 3-13 WAC)
| fg-a | ft-a | rb | pf | pts | a | to | min | |
| O'Neil | 6-11 | 1-2 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 33 |
| Golubovic | 2-6 | 0-0 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| George | 3-8 | 0-0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 29 |
| Seay | 5-14 | 5-7 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 38 |
| Sperling | 0-1 | 3-4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 26 |
| Ladd | 3-6 | 4-4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 27 |
| Cartwright | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Seals | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Webster | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| TEAM | 2 | |||||||
| Totals | 20-47 | 13-17 | 32 | 16 | 62 | 15 | 15 | 200 |
RAINBOW WARRIORS (13-17, 5-11 WAC)
| fg-a | ft-a | rb | pf | pts | a | to | min | |
| Nitoto | 6-13 | 1-2 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 38 |
| Thompson | 1-8 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 38 |
| Campbell | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Flemings | 7-14 | 1-2 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 36 |
| Amis | 2-7 | 3-6 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 31 |
| Balocka | 2-7 | 3-4 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 20 |
| Parghalava | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Lutu | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mayen | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Adams | 2-4 | 3-3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 20 |
| TEAM | ||||||||
| Totals | 21-55 | 11-17 | 35 | 19 | 58 | 14 | 13 | 200 |
Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fould; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.
Halftime — Hawaii 28, Fresno State 23
3-point goals — Fresno State 9-20 (Ladd 3-4, George 2-4, Golubovic 2-5, O'Neil 1-2, Seay 1-5), Hawaii 5-15 (Flemings 3-6, Nitoto 2-3, Balocka 0-2, Thompson 0-4).
Steals — Fresno State 4 (O'Neil 2, Sperling 2), Hawaii 11 (Amis 3, Thompson 3, Nitoto 2, Flemings 2, Balocka). Blocked shots — Fresno State 6 (Seay 3, George 2, Sperling), Hawaii 2 (Campbell, Amis).
Officials — David Hall, Randy McCall, Verne Harris. Attendance — N/A.
