A cold start in cold Reno, Nev., led to the continuation of a cold streak for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team yesterday.

Nevada defeated the Rainbow Warriors, 74-63, in a Western Athletic Conference game.

A crowd of 7,247 at the Lawlor Events Center watched the Wolf Pack control the lead from start to finish, and Nevada continued its mastery of Hawai'i in Reno.

The 'Bows dropped to 9-9 overall and 1-5 in the WAC with their fourth consecutive loss. Hawai'i is now in last place in the nine-team conference.

Nevada improved to 12-7 overall and is in second place at 5-1. The Wolf Pack is now 12-0 against Hawai'i in games played in Reno.

The 'Bows cut a 20-point deficit to six in the second half, but could never catch the Wolf Pack.

"They don't give consolation prizes, but our guys fought on the road," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "We now know that we can play in these conditions because we have to come back here for the WAC Tournament."

Kareem Nitoto matched his career-high with 14 points to lead Hawai'i. He scored all his points, and got all five of his assists during the second-half rally attempt.

"Did a nice job of getting back in the game," Nash said. "Put some pressure on (Nevada), got it down to six, but just didn't have enough at the end to bring it home."

Roderick Flemings added 12 points for Hawai'i, although he was in foul trouble for much of the game.

The 'Bows also got key contributions from reserve post players Petras Balocka and Brandon Adams. Balocka had 10 points and four rebounds; Adams finished with eight points and six rebounds.

It was not enough to overcome the poor start.

Luke Babbitt scored the first eight points of the game, including two 3-pointers, to give the Wolf Pack a lead it would not relinquish.

"I thought we started the game and played well," Nevada head coach Mark Fox said. "I certainly wasn't pleased with how we played in the second half, but we reached our objective in the end."

The 'Bows fell behind by as much as 19 in the first half and trailed 37-20 at intermission.

"I'm proud of the guys for the second half, but we can't afford to get down as many as 17 to a team as good as Nevada on the road," Nash said. "It's too big of a hole."

In the first half, Hawai'i shot 30 percent (6 of 20) from the field and committed 14 turnovers. The 20 points was also a season-low in a half for the 'Bows.

"I told our guys, the altitude is going to bother you in the first part of the game, but you have to fight through it, and you won't recognize it at the end," Nash said.

The Wolf Pack increased the lead to 45-25 with 13:50 remaining in the second half.

Hawai'i responded with a 17-4 run over a four-minute stretch to cut the Nevada lead to 52-46 with 8:02 remaining.

The 'Bows made it close with a full-court defense that frustrated the Wolf Pack.

"We didn't respond to the press," Fox said. "I was disappointed with how we handled it, especially with our experienced backcourt."

Nevada guard Brandon Fields, who finished with 19 points, added: "It caught us off guard when they pressed us. They have good quickness and are long. It took us a long time to figure it out."

It was 56-50 with 6:47 remaining, but the Wolf Pack secured the win with a 9-2 run.

Hawai'i finished the game with a .404 field-goal percentage, while Nevada finished at .431.

"We got shooters, they just have to step up there with confidence to knock it down," Nash said. "I thought in the second half guys did that."

Babbitt and Fields led the Wolf Pack with 19 points each. Malik Cooke added 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Nevada to a 35-28 advantage on the boards.

The 'Bows will not have time to dwell on what turned into their 10th consecutive loss away from home. They have a 6:20 a.m. flight to Honolulu today and are scheduled to practice this afternoon. In a scheduling quirk, Hawai'i will host first-place Utah State tomorrow.

Utah State won at San Jose State yesterday, and is scheduled to arrive in Honolulu around three hours ahead of the 'Bows.

OTHER WAC

UTAH STATE 62, SAN JOSE STATE 58

Gary Wilkinson scored a game-high 25 points as the Aggies (18-1, 6-0 WAC) extended their winning streak to 13 games by holding off the Spartans (8-9, 2-4) at San Jose, Calif. Chris Oakes led San Jose State with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

BOISE STATE 87, NEW MEXICO STATE 84

La'Shard Anderson scored 15 points, including 4 of 4 free throws in the final 14 seconds, to help the Broncos (13-5, 4-2) beat the Aggies (9-10, 3-3) at Boise, Idaho. Jahmar Young scored 25 points and Troy Gillenwater 24 to lead New Mexico.

FRESNO STATE 63, LOUISIANA TECH 46

Paul George scored 16 points, and Sylvester Seay added 15 points and seven rebounds as Fresno State (8-11, 1-4) beat Louisiana Tech (8-11, 2-4) at Fresno, Calif. Jamel Guyton had a game-high 17 points but went scoreless in the second half for Louisiana Tech.

PACIFIC WEST

CHAMINADE 69, HAWAI'I PACIFIC 63

Joel Smith scored 17 points, Mohamed Tangara added 14 points and nine rebounds, and the Silverswords (8-7, 5-2 PacWest) pulled away in the final four minutes to beat the Sea Warriors (7-7, 1-4) in a Pacific West Conference men's game at Blaisdell Arena.

Noah Gottlieb added 13 points and seven assists and Jamar Berry had 11 points for Chaminade. Willis McPhee led HPU with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Jason Curtis added 14 points and seven assists.

HAWAI'I PACIFIC 97, CHAMINADE 50

Rhani Kaneaiakala scored 19 points to lead four teammates in double figures as the Sea Warriors (8-8, 5-0 PacWest) beat the Silverswords (0-15, 0-7) in a Pacific West Conference women's game at Blaisdell Arena.

Tiffany Wilson added 18 points, Paris Gravely and Genesis Lewis each added 14, and Shontay Delpit had 11 for HPU. Samantha Saito scored 16 points, Arielle Salvador added 12 and Jasmine Dulan 11 for Chaminade.