The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team followed a familiar road script in a 69-60 loss to Fresno State last night.

"It's a broken record," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said of his team's recent road performances. "We don't get started right and we don't hit shots in the first half. Then second half, we come out and play our butts off."

Hawai'i trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, then cut it to three in the second half behind the stellar play of Julian Sensley before fading down the stretch.

An announced crowd of 14,222 at the Save Mart Center went home with smiles on their faces for the second consecutive night. On Friday, Britney Spears performed an energetic concert before a sold-out arena.

Last night, the Bulldogs performed a methodical inside-out game to stymie the Rainbow Warriors.

Point guard Shantay Legans had a game-high 25 points for Fresno State, and center Mustafa Al-Sayyad added a career-high 24.

"First half, they killed us from the outside," said Hawai'i point guard Logan Lee. "Second half, they got us inside. We just had no answer."

The 'Bows finished the regular season at 19-10 overall and 11-7 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs improved to 14-14 overall and 10-8 in the conference.

Hawai'i finished fifth in the WAC standings, and will play Rice in a quarterfinal game of the WAC Tournament — which is also being held at the Save Mart Center — on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (Hawai'i time).

"This team has overachieved all year," Wallace said. "Now they're underachieving. This is a 19-win team and they're forgetting how to win."

Hawai'i has lost five consecutive road games, mostly because of poor-shooting first halves.

"I seriously have no clue why," Lee said. "We just come out slow and we don't start fighting until we get our butts chewed out in the locker room at halftime. That has to change because we always dig a hole that's too big to come out of."

The 'Bows made just 9 of 29 field goals in the first half, including 0 of 9 shooting from 3-point range.

Hawai'i never led in the game, but stayed close for the first 10 minutes. Then Legans scored eight points during a 15-4 run that put the Bulldogs ahead, 34-18.

Hawai'i went more than six minutes during one stretch of the first half without making a field goal. By halftime, the Bulldogs had a 38-26 lead, with Legans scoring 14.

"I thought Logan did as well as he could on him," Wallace said of Legans. "But he just took over during that stretch. He's the best point guard in the league."

Fresno State head coach Ray Lopes added: "He's my best player. As he goes, we go."

The deficit proved to be too big for the 'Bows, despite a spectacular second half from Sensley. He finished with team-highs of 24 points, seven rebounds and four steals. In the second half, he had 18 points and five rebounds.

"I got hot and started knocking some shots down," said Sensley, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward. "But it wasn't enough, so I can't be satisfied."

With Sensley doing most of the scoring, the 'Bows chipped away at the Fresno State lead. They got as close as 52-49, and appeared to get within one on a tip-in by Phil Martin, but the referees ruled basket interference.

"I saw the ball off the rim," Wallace said. "It was a big play."

Legans and Al-Sayyad then combined to score the next 13 points for Fresno State to put the Bulldogs back in control at 65-57.

Al-Sayyad, a 6-9 junior, scored 16 in the second half. He shot 8 of 10 from the field and from the free-throw line, and also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

Led by Al-Sayyad, the Bulldogs out-rebounded the 'Bows 37-27. In two victories over Hawai'i this season, Al-Sayyad had 37 points and 26 rebounds. He entered last night's game averaging 7.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

"This was the best I've seen 'Moose' play since the beginning of the year," Legans said. "Tonight, he looked like the MVP of the league."

Hawai'i's MVP candidate, guard Michael Kuebler, struggled last night. He finished with nine points, ending a streak of 22 consecutive games in double-figures. He shot 3 of 16 from the field, including 1 of 10 from 3-point range.

"He's playing like he's tired right now," Wallace said.