SAN JOSE, Calif. — A harrowing plane flight Friday made just getting to Northern California an adventure for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

If that wasn't enough, the Rainbow Warriors had to endure even more drama on the court yesterday.

Hawai'i withstood a frantic San Jose State rally to notch its first Western Athletic Conference victory of the season, an 85-79 win over the Spartans at The Event Center.

The 'Bows needed three free throws from Riley Luettgerodt in the final 15.7 seconds to seal the victory.

"Our trip here started rough and it ended rough," said senior point guard Matt Gibson, who led the 'Bows with 18 points. "But we accomplished what we wanted. We got a win against a scrappy team that put up a real good fight."

Hawai'i improved to 5-9 overall and 1-1 in the WAC with its first road win of the season. However, the 'Bows let what appeared to be an easy victory almost slip away in the final minute.

The 'Bows led by as many as 17 points early in the second half, and still held a comfortable 12-point edge with 1:12 remaining when Gibson picked up his fifth foul.

Then things got interesting.

San Jose State (6-7, 0-2) has recorded second-half comebacks in five of its victories this season. The Spartans almost did it again as they took advantage of Gibson's absence.

Full-court pressure forced two consecutive Hawai'i turnovers, and Spartan freshman Justin Graham began driving to the basket every time down the court in the closing minutes.

Graham scored nine of San Jose State's last 11 points — seven on free throws — as the Spartans cut Hawai'i's 12-point lead to four in less than one minute.

But the 'Bows went 5 of 6 on free throws — including 3 of 4 by Luettgerodt — in the final 23.5 seconds to halt the San Jose State rally.

"That was a dumb foul on Matt's part and left us in a situation where we didn't have our best ball-handler on the court," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "But we were fortunate to pull it out. Our other guys hung in there for us."

Gibson could only root on his teammates from the bench — a towel draped over his head.

"I kept telling them to just win the game," Gibson said. "Be strong. Make your free throws. I couldn't even look at the end."

His teammates did come through. Luettgerodt and Bobby Nash ended up adding 14 points each, and Jared Dillinger chipped in 13.

Gibson also contributed eight assists — his third consecutive game with eight assists — and five rebounds.

Graham led the Spartans with 29 points including 14-of-17 shooting from the free-throw line.

Hawai'i took control of the game early, racing to a 27-16 lead midway through the first half. The 'Bows eventually took a 43-29 lead at halftime, with Gibson scoring 10 in the first half.

Hawai'i shot 57.1 percent from the field in the first half, and finished at 52.8 percent for the game. The 'Bows were especially effective from long-range, going 7 of 12 on 3-pointers.

Dillinger went 3 of 3 from 3-point range, and Nash went 3 of 6.

The 'Bows also got key performances from reserves Adhar Mayen and Bill Amis, who scored eight points each. Amis also grabbed six rebounds.

It was an eventful couple of days for the 'Bows in the Bay Area, which has been pounded by a series of severe winter storms.

The team's commercial flight Friday morning from Salt Lake City was almost ready to land in San Jose when high winds forced the plane to be diverted to Fresno, Calif.

The 'Bows lost to Utah State in Logan, Utah, on Thursday.

"The last 30 minutes were crazy," Gibson said. "When we started our descent, the plane was rocking back and forth. Everybody was thinking, 'Is this guy even going to try to land this plane?' Yet somehow three of our guys were sleeping. I don't know how they did that."

After refueling in Fresno, the plane arrived in San Jose three hours later. But all's well that ends well. The 'Bows leave California now having won 10 consecutive games against the Spartans.