Box Score
FRESNO, Calif. – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team suffered a six-minute scoring drought in the first half which propelled Fresno State to a 78-64 Western Athletic Conference victory Saturday night at the Save Mart Center. The Rainbow Warriors dropped to 8-8 overall and 1-2 in the WAC.
UH, which had won two of the last three games in Fresno, fell behind by 18 at the half and could not get closer than the final margin in the second half.
For the 'Bows,
Roderick Flemings scored all 13 of his points in the second half after being plagued by foul trouble in the first half.
Jeremy Lay came off the bench and led UH with 14 points.
Four Bulldogs (9-7, 2-0) scored in double figures led by Paul George's 21 points and nine rebounds. Sylvester Seay added 17 points and six boards.
The teams came our sizzling in the first half. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 15-8 lead with three-pointers by George, Steven Shepp, and Mike Ladd before the 'Bows inched their way back, closing to 17-15 after a three by
Dwain Williams.
With Hawai'i trailing 28-24 at the halfway point of the period, the Bulldogs scored 12 unanswered and the 'Bows went cold. Threes by Ladd and George pushed the Fresno State lead to 40-24 and UH went six minutes without a point. The drought was eight-and-a-half minutes without a field goal and the 'Bows soon found themselves trailing 47-27 before
Paul Campbell's lay-up at the first-half buzzer. In all, the Bulldogs out-scored UH, 19-5 in the final 9:37 of the half.
UH shot 50 percent from the field, but committed 15 costly turnovers which led to 24 Bulldog points. Fresno State also shot 50 percent but took half of their attempts behind the arc, converting seven. George had 13 points at the half. Flemings played only eight minutes after picking up three fouls and taking no shot attempts.
The 'Bows conclude their first WAC road trip of the season by traveling to Utah State, Monday, Jan. 11. Tip-off is 7:05 p.m. MT (4:05 p.m. HT) at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah.
-UH-
