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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian said he lost some sleep after watching how well Hawaii played in the Western Athletic Conference quarterfinals.
|  | | Nerijus Puida and the Rainbow Warriors found a way past Tito Maddox's Bulldogs. |
He might lose a little more after what happened in the semis.
The Rainbow Warriors didn't match the 60-percent shooting effort
they had in a 20-point victory over Texas Christian, but did answer
every challenge in upsetting the No. 25 Bulldogs 76-67 Friday
night.
Hawaii (16-13) committed 25 turnovers, but held the Bulldogs to
35-percent shooting and came up with a game-turning run after
Fresno State had rallied to take the lead in the second half.
"We bent, but we never broke," coach Riley Wallace said.
"These guys' engines have been started. When everybody got healthy
and got out there and saw what they could do, they got revved up."
Predrag Savovic scored 23 points, Troy Ostler had 19 and Phil
Martin had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Hawaii.
Top-seeded Fresno State (25-6) saw WAC player of the year Melvin
Ely get three fouls in the first half, then have to play much of
the second with four fouls.
The Bulldogs made just nine field goals in the first half, when
they trailed by as many as 12. They picked up their defensive
intensity during a 10-0 run that tied the score early in the second
half, but they weren't able to seize control.
"I thought we handled their offensive sets pretty good,"
Tarkanian said. "They just cut TCU up totally with their offense.
After I watched what they did to TCU, I was scared to death.
"We just didn't score at all."
Savovic scored five of Hawaii's seven points during a run that
gave the Rainbow Warriors a 14-8 lead early in the first half. A
12-3 run later in the half, including six points by Ostler, gave
Hawaii an 11-point lead that grew to 12 for a short time just
before halftime.
Fresno State, thanks to its defense, eventually took a 42-41
on a 3-pointer by Damon Jackson with 11:45 remaining.
But Mikey McIntyre and Nerijus Puida made consecutive
3-pointers, and Savovic added a jumper to give Hawaii a 49-42 lead
at the midway point of the second half.
Fresno State got no closer than five after that, with Hawaii
finding a way to answer just about every big Bulldog shot with one
of its own.
"After our run they got a little quick run, so it kind of put
us back in our place," Shannon Swillis said. "It's a game of
spurts and they had the last spurt of the game."
Chris Jefferies led Fresno State with 15 points, and Demetrius
Porter scored 13.
Ely, who scored just six points on Thursday, had 12 against
Hawaii.
"We've got to put this game behind us, see where we're seeded on Sunday and get back to practice Monday," said Fresno State's Tito Maddox. "It's a long season."
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Hawaii Clubhouse
Fresno State Clubhouse
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