FRESNO, Calif. » Hawaii needed Roderick Flemings on the floor last night.

Instead, Flemings spent most of the crucial moments against rival Fresno State on the bench seated next to coach Bob Nash.

With their top scorer and floor leader grounded by foul trouble, the Rainbow Warriors came apart at the seams in a 78-64 loss before an announced crowd of 8,193 at the Save Mart Center.

Hawaii committed 20 turnovers, including 15 in a folly-filled first half that resulted in numerous Fresno State fast breaks.

Flemings played a season-low 26 minutes and finished with 13 points—all in the second half. The 6-foot-7 senior didn't even attempt a shot in the first.

“;Usually Rod gets the ball and everyone flows with it,”; said junior guard Jeremy Lay, who scored 14 points to help pick up the slack. “;But Rod wasn't getting his shots, and we were a little lost out there. We want him to set the tone.”;

Two of the calls against Flemings appeared to be of the obvious make-up variety. He picked up No. 3 on a reach-in and headed to the bench with 7:37 remaining.

Not coincidentally, that's just when Fresno State closed the first half with a turnover-fueled 19-5 run.

“;It was a frustrating first half,”; Flemings said. “;I got a few bad calls my way, which made it kind of tough to stay on the court. We just had a lot of turnovers, and that was pretty much the game.”;

Nash wouldn't pile on the officials but acknowledged his team was pretty much helpless without Flemings.

“;If (Flemings) is sitting over there with me, he can't help us on the floor,”; Nash said. “;And tonight he was sitting over there with me. I don't blame the referees. They called them as they saw them.”;

UH (8-8 overall, 1-2 WAC) had its hands full with FSU sophomore Paul George, who finished with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds to go with six assists and four steals.

Sylvester Seay added 17 points for the Bulldogs (9-7, 2-0), who enjoyed a 20-0 edge on fast-break points and 32-10 in points off turnovers.

FSU didn't press that much and relied mostly on a 2-3 zone, which made UH's turnover total even more conspicuous.

“;It was our carelessness with the ball, trying to pass too quick,”; Nash said. “;Their zone gave us some problems down on the block trying to pass into guys cutting. They stepped in front of the ball and got it.”;

UH stayed within striking distance early thanks to early production in the post from big men Paul Campbell and Petras Balocka.

Lay scored seven points in a 3-minute span, including a pair of free throws that brought his team within 28-24 with 9:37 remaining.

But that's when things went sour. Sour like month-old milk.

By the time the surge was over, Fresno State enjoyed a 47-29 halftime lead. During one sequence, Steven Shepp stole a Hiram Thompson pass and drove for a dunk. George then picked Dwain Williams' pocket and passed to Mike Ladd for another.

UH made a little noise in the second half, cutting the deficit to 14 points in the final minute.

Adding injury to insult, Balocka came away from a scrappy sequence underneath the rim clutching his left shoulder in obvious pain. His status for tomorrow night's game at Utah State is unknown.