CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament: USF stuns Hawaii with late rally

March 20, 2011

USF stuns Hawaii with late rally

Box Score

HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team's postseason run came to a stunning conclusion with a 77-74 loss to San Francisco in the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH concluded its remarkable turnaround season with a 19-13 overall record.

The Rainbow Warriors were primed to advance to the CIT quarterfinals only to see the game snatched away. UH held a seven-point lead with less than 90 seconds, but the Dons (19-14) went on an 11-1 run to end the game. Cody Doolin hit a go-ahead layup with 7.3 seconds, UH turned the ball over on its final possession and USF iced the game with two free throws with less than a second left to dim the lights on UH's season.

It was a bitter end to what was an exhilarating season for the Rainbow Warriors who notched their most wins since 2004, also the last season UH made the postseason. The 'Bows led for nearly the entire game, holding the Dons to just 35 percent shooting, including just 6-of-29 from three-point range. But UH could never fully pull away in suffering just its fifth loss in 19 home games this year.

The Rainbow Warriors got a balanced attack with five players scoring in double digits. Zane Johnson and Vander Joaquim each scored 13 points, as did Trevor Wiseman, a career-high for the freshman. With a three-pointer in the first half, Johnson set a new single-season record for three-pointers (98).

Joston Thomas chipped in 12 points, while Bill Amis gave a huge effort in his final appearance in Hawai'i jersey. The senior tallied his second straight postseason double-double with 12 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and four blocks.

The Dons, who move on to the tournament quarterfinals versus Santa Clara on Tuesday, got a monster game from guard Rashad Green who finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds and four assists. UH held leading scorer Michael Williams to just 11 points on 3-of-18 shooting.

UH gave up the opening basket of the game but led for nearly the entire duration of the contest. The 'Bows built a 10-point lead in the first half before taking a 40-33 lead into the locker room, and enjoyed a nine-point lead with less than three minutes left, but could not hold on.