By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
TULSA, Okla. — While continuing a dream run through the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, the Hawai‘i men’s basketball team has become every opponent’s worst nightmare.
Fresno State, the WAC’s regular season champion and the No. 25-ranked team in the nation, was the latest victim last night as the Rainbows defeated the Bulldogs, 76-67, in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
After their second improbable victory in as many days, the Rainbows will play for the WAC championship tonight against Tulsa at 5 p.m. (HST). The winner of that game will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"These guys can’t even think about that yet," Hawai‘i coach Riley Wallace said, pointing to his players. "We just have to take care of business like we did these last two games."
Last night, business was booming for the Rainbows, just like it was on Thursday in a 20-point quarterfinal victory over Texas Christian.
Four Hawai‘i players scored in double figures, led by Predrag Savovic’s 23, and the Rainbows clearly out-hustled and out-muscled the supposedly faster and bigger Bulldogs.
"They’re the best team in the league," Savovic said. "We knew we had to play our best against them."
It may not have been the Rainbows’ best effort of the season, but it was certainly their most significant. It was also the biggest upset of the WAC Tournament, as Hawai‘i was seeded No. 5 to Fresno State’s No. 1.
But going into last night’s game, Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian was aware of the Rainbows’ late-season awakening. Since a 23-point loss at Frenso on Feb. 11, Hawai‘i has won seven of eight games.
"The performance they put on against TCU was frightening, it was absolutely frightening," Tarkanian said. "I had a hard time sleeping (Thursday) night."
Last night, the Rainbows caught the Bulldogs napping throughout, resulting in several point-blank layups.
The key, according to Wallace, was a "new wrinkle" in the Rainbows’ motion-oriented offense, which has suddenly moved to the top of the WAC’s most feared list.
"We started the ball in the middle of the floor instead of the wings," Wallace said. "That way, Fresno couldn’t trap us on the wings like they like to do. That helped us get our offense started, and when we get into our offense, it’s very difficult to cover."
To be sure, the Rainbows took turns frustrating the Bulldogs. Among the most significant contributors:
 Savovic, who led the team in scoring despite playing just 25 minutes because of foul trouble. He played just nine minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls, but scored 13 in the game’s crucial final 10 minutes.
An admitted fan of Tarkanian, Savovic chatted with the legendary coach both before and after the game.
"He always says, ‘it’s an honor to play you,’ " Tarkanian said of the conversation. "I said, ‘well have a bad game one time, will you?’ He’s never had a bad game against me. He’s a hell of a player."
Troy Ostler, a senior center who contributed 19 points and five rebounds. Perhaps most significant, he helped limit Fresno State center Melvin Ely, the WAC Player of the Year, to 12 points and four rebounds.
"Troy came to play defensively tonight," Wallace said. "He was battling (Ely) down low."
Phil Martin, a freshman forward who scored 10 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds on his 21st birthday.
At the team’s pre-game lunch, Martin was surprised with a birthday cake. A few hours later, he surprised the Bulldogs with his quickness to the basketball.
"I made a wish for us to win and it looks like it came true," he said. "For some reason, I had a lot of energy in my legs and I was moving to all the right spots where the rebounds were falling."
Carl English, a freshman reserve point guard who contributed 10 points, eights assists and six rebounds. He got eight points and six assists in the second half when the Rainbows held off a Bulldog charge.
"He’s no longer a freshman," Wallace said. "He handled the ball, he made some good passes, he penetrated and he battled the boards."
Despite all that, the Rainbows’ blew a 12-point first half lead. A 10-3 run by Hawai‘i late in the first half resulted in a 34-22 lead that was eventually cut to 34-24 at halftime.
The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 10-0 run to tie it, then held a short-lived 42-41 lead on a 3-pointer by Damon Jackson.
"We bent, but we never broke," Wallace said.
As proof, the Rainbows responded with an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead at 49-42 with 10:18 remaining. With Savovic back on target the rest of the way, Fresno State never got closer than six after that.
"We bounced right back — hit some big buckets, got some free throws and got control of the game again," Wallace said.
The Bulldogs, who are 25-6 and still expected to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, appeared lethargic from the start. They shot just 35 percent from the field (24-of-68) and 47 percent from the free throw line (9-of-19).
Twice, the Bulldogs had seemingly easy breakaway lay-ins rejected by hustling Rainbows — one by English and one by Nerijus Puida.
"I know my team is playing very well right now and they got a lot of energy," Wallace responded when asked why the Rainbows appear to have so much confidence this week. "When you got a powerful engine out there and you start it up, you can hear it revving. Well, these guys engines have been started when everybody got healthy and everybody got out there and they saw what each other could do."
Last night’s victory also avenged last season’s heartbreaking 103-100 double-overtime loss to Fresno State in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament.
"It’s big-time redemption," said Hawai‘i point guard Mike McIntyre, who was called for a controversial foul in the closing moments of last season’s game. "We weren’t thinking about this game as revenge, but looking back now, it does feel good to get them back."
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