MOSCOW, Idaho — The heavy snowfall was nothing compared to the fall the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team took last night.

The Rainbow Warriors suffered their most hurtful loss of the season, 76-75, to Idaho at the Cowan Spectrum.

Clyde Johnson's wide-open 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds remaining was the winning shot that struck Hawai'i in the heart. Until then, the 'Bows never trailed in the second half.

"This one hurt, and it should hurt," Hawai'i senior co-captain Matt Lojeski said. "We're going downhill. We shouldn't be losing to teams like this. Not to downgrade (Idaho), but we can't forget this one."

Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said: "That was a tough one to take. We let one get away here."

The 'Bows dropped to 10-8 overall and 1-4 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Vandals improved to 3-14 and 1-4. The teams are tied for last place in the nine-team WAC.

"This one is very personal," Hawai'i sophomore guard Dominic Waters said. "But we have to be men and accept it. We have nobody to blame but ourselves."

Idaho appeared to hand Hawai'i the victory when David Jackson deliberately fouled Waters with 8.7 seconds remaining. Jackson thought the Vandals were trailing, but Keoni Watson had just drained a 3-pointer to tie the score at 73.

"We're not going to sit here and cover for (Jackson), but we're not going to beat him up either," Idaho head coach George Pfeifer said. "He didn't do it on purpose. He got caught up in the moment."

Waters made both free throws to give the 'Bows a 75-73 lead.

"I knew I was going to make both of them, so I thought we were going to seal it up right there," Waters said.

But on Idaho's final possession, freshman point guard O.J. Avworo drove the length of the court and then whipped a pass to Johnson near the top of the key.

Johnson was so wide-open, he even had time to look down at the 3-point line before sinking the winning shot.

"I knew I was close, that's why I looked down," Johnson said. "When I saw both feet behind the line, I went up with it and nothing but net."

Hawai'i center Ahmet Gueye was supposed to defend Johnson, but he tried to help cover Avworo, who was driving down the lane. Gueye then fell to the ground while trying to race back to challenge Johnson's shot.

"I heard somebody from Hawai'i fell down," Pfeifer said. "But we'll take that."

During the timeout prior to Johnson's shot, Wallace said he instructed the 'Bows not to leave any Vandals open for a 3-pointer.

"That's the Achilles heel of this team ... is defense," Wallace said. "Especially in the last 10 minutes of a ballgame. The last two or three losses have been strictly because of defense — perimeter defense, where we let the other team penetrate the lane."

Gueye's desperation shot from beyond half-court was way short at the buzzer, prompting the Idaho students to storm the court and celebrate with the Vandals.

The loss was especially frustrating for Hawai'i because several 'Bows performed well.

Waters had his best game in a Hawai'i uniform, recording career-highs of 18 points and five assists.

Lojeski added 17 points and nine rebounds, but he went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line with 17.5 seconds remaining, and the miss would prove costly.

Gueye contributed 15 points and tied his career-high with 14 rebounds. He also blocked four shots, including a spectacular block of an attempt by Watson that kept the score tied at 68 with 1:10 remaining.

P.J. Owsley also had a strong game, tying his career-high with 12 points and grabbing a career-high nine rebounds.

Bobby Nash added 11 points, although he was limited to just 15 minutes because of foul trouble.

Gueye's two free throws with 22.1 seconds remaining gave Hawai'i what appeared to be a controlling lead at 72-68.

But Watson made two free throws to cut it to 72-70, then Lojeski went 1 of 2 from the line to make it 73-70.

Watson then sank a 3 from the top of the key to tie it at 73 with 11.5 seconds remaining. Watson led the Vandals with 16 points, while Johnson and Darin Nagle added 15 each.

"It's like we find a way to lose the close ones," Lojeski said. "We need to find that killer instinct because we're letting too many of these slip away."

The Vandals jumped to a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game, but Hawai'i rallied behind Waters. He hit three 3-pointers during a 13-3 surge that gave the 'Bows a 40-31 lead.

Hawai'i eventually took a 40-35 advantage at intermission, with Waters recording 14 points and four assists.

The 'Bows increased the lead to 59-50 on a hook shot by Owsley with 8:20 remaining, but the Vandals rallied to make it exciting in the closing minutes.

An alley-oop dunk by Johnson sparked a 9-3 surge by Idaho that cut the Hawai'i lead to 59-56 with 4:53 remaining. The dunk also ignited the sparse crowd of 1,107.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.