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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, January 2, 2005

Nevada frustrates UH in final seconds, 58-55

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

RENO, Nev. — The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team started the new year the same way it ended the last one — with a heartbreaking loss on the road.

Guard Matt Gibson, who led Hawai'i with 19 points, drives around Nevada's Ramon Sessions.

Brad Horn • Associated Press

The Rainbow Warriors dropped their second consecutive game in the closing seconds, this time in a 58-55 loss at Nevada.

"We gave ourselves a chance to win in a place that's very hard to win," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "We feel good about that, but we feel bad at the same time because we had a chance to win it."

Hawai'i, which lost a similar game at Fresno State on Wednesday, dropped to 8-2 overall and 0-2 in the Western Athletic Conference. Nevada improved to 9-3 and 2-0.

Nevada freshman point guard Ramon Sessions went 6 for 6 from the free-throw line in the final 1 minute, 26 seconds of the game, including the go-ahead points with 29.8 seconds remaining, and then the clinching free throws with 6.1 seconds left.

After two Sessions free throws, Hawai'i trailed 55-54 in the closing seconds, and had possession of the ball. But Julian Sensley missed a 15-foot jump shot with around eight seconds remaining.

"It's the shot we wanted," Wallace said. "We wanted the ball in his hands, and he makes shots from that spot even with (defenders) on him. He just came up short and hit the front of the rim."

After the game, Sensley's right eye was bright red and he said it was because he got poked in the eye on that last shot.

"I don't know who it was, but it came just as I released the ball," he said. "I couldn't even see what happened after that and I didn't hear a whistle so I guess the refs didn't see it."

After Sessions' final free throws made the score 58-55, Hawai'i point guard Deonte Tatum missed a desperation 3-point shot as the clock expired.

"I'm glad we have a guy like him," Nevada senior Kevinn Pinkney said of Sessions. "He's a freshman, but he made some real crucial and critical free throws which won us the game."

The Wolf Pack is also glad to have Nick Fazekas. The 6-foot-11 sophomore forward had game-highs of 23 points and 17 rebounds. Sessions added 14 points and five assists, and Pinkney had 10 points and 11 rebounds as Nevada won the battle of the boards by a surprisingly large margin of 50-26.

Hawai'i forward Julian Sensley goes up for a shot over Nevada's Jermaine Washington in last night's WAC game at Reno, Nev.

Brad Horn • Associated Press

"They just out-worked us," Wallace said. "Maybe that shows some fatigue on our part, but we're a big team and we need to rebound better than that."

Nevada head coach Mark Fox said: "We really feel like we have a long team and a pretty athletic team, so there's no reason why we can't be one of the best teams in the league in rebounding."

Hawai'i entered the game leading the WAC with an average of 15.3 offensive rebounds per game. The 'Bows got just 11 last night, leading to just six "second-chance" points.

"Little Matt" Gibson, who was starting at shooting guard for the first time in a month, had team-highs of 19 points and six assists for the 'Bows. Sensley added 12 points, and Chris Botez contributed six points and seven rebounds.

Just like in the loss at Fresno State, Hawai'i appeared to be in control for most of last night's game.

The 'Bows went on a 9-0 run midway through the first half to take a 17-10 lead. Nevada rallied to tie it at 21, but the 'Bows eventually took a 28-23 lead at halftime.

Hawai'i stymied the Wolf Pack in the first half with a tenacious defense that produced 13 steals and forced 17 Nevada turnovers.

"I wrote 17 turnovers on the board and said you solve that you're going to win the game," is what Fox said he did at halftime. "We had only six in the second half, so I thought that was a huge key."

The Wolf Pack finished with 23 turnovers, and grabbed 10 steals to Hawai'i's 15.

Gibson, who had three steals, said: "We were gambling a little more in the first half, but then they started getting cautious and we had to back off a little in the second half."

Hawai'i increased its lead to as many as eight early in the second half, but the Wolf Pack went on a 13-3 run to take a 36-34 lead with 15:03 remaining. The game went back and forth after that, with neither team going ahead by more than five.

Neither team shot particularly well, with Hawai'i hitting 38.3 percent from the field, including just 26.7 percent from 3-point range. The Wolf Pack shot 32.7 percent from the field, and 28.6 percent from 3-point range.

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