Memo for future seasons: have some empty jars on hand for Hawaii men's basketball senior nights.

That way, the Rainbow Warriors can bottle some of the magic in the Stan Sheriff Center air for use in places like, say, Boise, Idaho.

With Saturday night's 74-63 defeat of Nevada, the Rainbows put themselves in position for a worthy prize—a Western Athletic Conference tournament berth—if they can pull off an upset of eighth-place Boise State (13-16, 3-11) in Taco Bell Arena on Thursday.

And yes, it would be an upset, even considering UH's 76-68 defeat of the Broncos in Honolulu on Jan. 4. The 'Bows are 0-for-7 on the road this year, despite close calls at Nevada and Louisiana Tech.

Boise has also played better of late, winning at LaTech last Thursday and coming within a few points of stunning New Mexico State in a 95-92 loss at Las Cruces, N.M., on Saturday.

But if the Rainbows (10-18, 3-11) perform as well as they did to snap their nine-game losing streak, they'll have a shot. UH went 25-for-47 (53.2 percent) from the field, while holding Nevada to a 22-for-53 (41.5 percent) night thanks to an effective zone defense.

Most stunning was UH's 8-for-13 marksmanship on 3-pointers.

“;Our shooters stepped up and made big shots. We had a lot of energy, and it was just a great team effort,”; coach Bob Nash said. “;Petras (Balocka) came in, he got us started with ball movement. Hiram knocked down 3s, Adhar (Mayen) made baskets. If you get that kind of production, it was just one of those things where it becomes contagious. Hopefully it'll continue, and we'll go into Boise and get a win there, too.”;

Roderick Flemings was inspired, playing before 11 family members from Dallas, elevating above the rim all game for 20 points and 12 rebounds.

A shortened rotation paid dividends for UH; the five seniors (Balocka, Mayen, Flemings, Brandon Adams, Paul Campbell) plus junior point guard Hiram Thompson got the lion's share of the minutes. Nash didn't call upon reserve big men Ji Xiang and Douglas Kurtz until the final minute in garbage time, and guard Leroy Lutu Jr. played 7 minutes when Nevada pressed fullcourt.

As down as the UH players were over the losing streak, they pulled together with their collective backs to the wall. A road win is back in the conversation with some renewed swagger.

The low-key Mayen was almost unrecognizable during the last game, flashing the “;3”; finger sign after his third trey. He went for a career-high 17 points.

“;We're still in it. It's not over yet,”; Mayen said. “;We got two more games, and we just gotta go out there and compete.”;

If UH goes up to Boise and loses, the Rainbows still have a shot at the tourney if they can win at seventh-place Idaho (13-15, 4-10) on Saturday. However, it would come down to a tiebreaker scenario that'd be out of UH's hands.