"The defensive effort was there," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "The offense wasn't."

A crowd of 4,712 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors lose their fifth consecutive game to drop to 14-12 overall and 6-11 in the Western Athletic Conference. It is Hawai'i's longest losing streak since the 1998-99 team finished with a 6-20 record.

Nevada, on the other hand, got a similar defensive effort and just enough offense to claim a historic victory.

The Wolf Pack's first victory ever in Honolulu clinched its first outright WAC regular-season championship. The Wolf Pack, which is ranked No. 25 in this week's Associated Press Top 25, is 23-5 overall and 15-2 in the WAC.

"When you shoot 29 percent, you're going to get beat, especially by a top 25 team," Wallace said.

Nevada head coach Mark Fox said: "Defense saved us. It was ugly for sure, but it was good enough to win."

Nevada's Mo Charlo grabbed a rebound away from Hawai'i's Vaidotas Peciukas during the second half of last night's game. The Wolf Pack outrebounded the Rainbows, 46-33, en route to a 55-47 victory. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

"They beat us on the boards, but they beat everybody on the boards," Wallace said of Nevada's 46-33 rebounding advantage. "The difference is Fazekas and Pinkney. They're not going to give you much easy stuff."

"Little Matt" Gibson led Hawai'i with 14 points and was the only 'Bow to score in double figures. Jake Sottos and Jeff Blackett added eight points each.

"We did our jobs defensively, and we didn't step up offensively," Gibson said. "We didn't hesitate on our shots. We shot it every time we were open, we took good shots ... we just didn't make them."

Still, Hawai'i was in it until the final minute.

The 'Bows trailed by as many as 10 points with less than three minutes remaining in the game, but got as close as two in the final minute.

A layup by Gibson with 56 seconds remaining cut Nevada's lead to 49-47. However, the Wolf Pack shot 6 of 6 from the free-throw line after that to secure the win.

"They did what they needed to do down the stretch and that reminds us of a lot of games this year," Blackett said.

Hawai'i shot just 29.4 percent from the field, including a dismal 13.6 percent (3 of 22) from 3-point range. The starting backcourt of Gibson and Sottos combined to shoot 9 of 29.

Wallace said the 'Bows were "very, very impatient" on offense and did not attack the basket enough.

"When you see Gibson and Sottos are 9 for 29, you're going to have to have some layups to balance that out," Wallace said.

It was ugly from the start as both teams struggled in the first half.

Hawai'i shot just 19.4 percent in the first half and trailed, 23-14, at intermission. However, Wallace said he was not discouraged by his team's performance in the first half.

"I felt like we could still be in the ball game and have a chance to win it because we were playing hard and playing good defense," he said.

Fox added: "We both shot it poorly in the first half. We just were fortunate to win."

Wallace received a technical foul from referee Terry Christman early in the second half. Wallace said he was not trying to motivate his team by receiving a technical, although he may have done so anyway.

"He jumped right in my face and I told him to get the hell out of my face," Wallace said. "And he didn't like that."

Moments after the technical, the 'Bows tied the score at 30 on a free throw by Julian Sensley.

The score was tied again at 32, but Hawai'i was never able to overtake Nevada. The Wolf Pack went on a 15-5 run to take control for good at 47-37 with 2:56 remaining.

Fazekas, playing with a protective mask on his face because of a broken nose he sustained last week, made four free throws in the final 39.7 seconds to help seal the win.

"It wasn't one of his better nights, but his numbers in the end were solid," Fox said of Fazekas.

The 'Bows will play their final home game of the season tomorrow against Fresno State. Seniors Blackett, Sottos and Vaidotas Peciukas will be honored after the game.