Fresno State hands UH first loss, 79-78

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

FRESNO, Calif. — It's true, everything changes on the road in the Western Athletic Conference.

Fresno State's Dominique White, right, celebrates his team's 79-78 victory as he walks past a dejected Matt Gibson of Hawai'i. Gary Kazanjian • Associated Press

"It's not a good lesson when you lose; it's a bad lesson," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "We played 30 minutes of good basketball tonight, good enough to win. But you have to play 40 minutes in this league, especially on the road."

Chris Berry's two free throws with 27.1 seconds remaining proved to be the winning margin, and capped a Fresno State rally from an 11-point second-half deficit.

Hawai'i had the final possession of the game, but its intended play broke down and Jeff Blackett missed a desperation 3-point attempt as the clock expired.

"Right at the end there, you can't expect a foul," said Blackett, who was knocked to the ground after his final shot. "I thought it was (a foul), but you can't expect a call in a situation like that, so it was probably the right call. But I was off-balance and didn't get a good shot up."

With that, the Rainbow Warriors' undefeated start came to a heartbreaking end. A boisterous crowd of 11,768 at the Save Mart Center watched the 'Bows drop to 8-1 overall and 0-1 in the WAC. The Bulldogs improved to 7-3 and 1-0.

The 'Bows have won their share of close games and made their share of rallies this season, but Wallace said it was not a case of the odds catching up.

"We didn't turn the ball over, we out-rebounded them, and we shot the ball pretty well," he said. "It came down to execution at the end and we didn't execute when we needed it most."

Hawai'i's starting forwards — Blackett and Julian Sensley — were the only 'Bows to execute consistently.

Blackett nearly became the first Hawai'i player to ever record a triple-double, finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight assists. Sensley scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, and grabbed six rebounds.

"Julian and I had great games because it was all within our offense," Blackett said. "All our buckets were. We just kind of broke down as a team at the end."

Hawai'i opened the game with a 6-0 lead and controlled the entire first half. By intermission, the 'Bows had a 41-32 lead.

"We weren't defending and we certainly weren't rebounding in the first half," Fresno State head coach Ray Lopes said. "But what big heart in the second half by this group."

The Bulldogs trailed 43-32 early in the second half, then slowly chipped away at the Hawai'i lead. They finally caught the 'Bows at 61 with 8:26 remaining, setting up a back-and-forth battle the rest of the way.

Fresno State center Mustafa Al-Sayyad took control of the low post in the closing minutes, scoring seven of his 15 points in the final 6:27.

"I think we had the advantage inside, so I wanted the ball," Al-Sayyad said. "I was either going strong to the basket or get fouled."

"Little Matt" Gibson drained a 3-pointer that gave the 'Bows a 77-74 lead with 1:39 remaining. But Fresno State's Donovan Morris responded with a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to tie it with 1:22 left.

Hawai'i took a 78-77 lead when Deonte Tatum made one of two free throws with 49.5 seconds remaining. On Fresno State's ensuing possession, Berry drove to the basket and was fouled by Milos Zivanovic — who came in after Chris Botez fouled out.

"He promised me he was making those free throws," Lopes said of Berry.

He did, and the 'Bows called their final play without taking a timeout. "I think everybody kind of panicked," Sensley said of the frantic final seconds.

Wallace explained: "Everybody came to the ball instead of making their cuts to the basket. That's a breakdown and a lack of experience."

Morris shot 7 for 7 from the field, including 5 for 5 from 3-point range, to finish with 20 points for Fresno State. Ja'Vance Coleman added 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.