MOSCOW, Idaho — The University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team concluded its 2009-10 campaign with a 78-69 loss to Idaho, Saturday night at the Cowan Spectrum, states a press release from the UH athletic department. The Rainbow Warriors ended the
MOSCOW, Idaho — The University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team concluded its 2009-10 campaign with a 78-69 loss to Idaho, Saturday night at the Cowan Spectrum, states a press release from the UH athletic department.
The Rainbow Warriors ended the season 10-20 overall and 3-13 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The sum of the day’s events means UH will not finish among the top eight WAC teams heading to the conference tournament.
For the second straight game, UH fell victim to the long ball. Idaho’s Steffan Johnson poured in 28 points, including eight 3-pointers, the most ever by a UH opponent. For the game, the Vandals shot 14 for 27 from behind the arc.
“I thought Steffan (Johnson) and Mac (Hopson) did a nice job on offense,” said Idaho head coach Don Verlin. “They played solid offensively. I mean, we made 14 3-pointers. That’s hard to beat.”
Roderick Flemings, making his final appearance as a Rainbow Warrior scored a game-high 29 points. Fellow senior Petras Balocka recorded his fifth double-double of the season and eighth of his career with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, sophomore Leroy Lutu matched his career-high with 12 points.
UH came out strong and led by as many as five points, including a 27-22 lead with less than five minutes left in the first half. But the Vandals ended on a 13-5 run to take a 35-32 lead into the locker room.
The ’Bows continued to hang tough in the second half and enjoyed the lead on a trio of occasions. The turning point, however, came with a little less than eight minutes remaining. UH tied the score, 54-54 on a Lutu free throw. Idaho then hit four straight 3-pointers, including three by Johnson, to spur a 16-5 run.
That sequence put the Vandals up by double-digits and all but buried UH’s hopes for an elusive road victory. UH ended the season winless on the road (0-9) for the first time since 1999.
Aside from Flemings and Balocka, two other Rainbow Warriors played their final games for UH. Center Paul Campbell finished with four points and six rebounds, while forward Brandon Adams had two points and nine rebounds.
UH’s fifth senior, forward Adhar Mayen, did not play due to illness, ending a string of 76 straight appearances.
The ’Bows, who finished ninth in the conference, entered the game with an outside chance at making next week’s WAC Tournament. The ’Bows were officially eliminated from contention in the first half of their game with Idaho when eighth-place Boise State defeated San Jose in an earlier game.
The Associated Press and the UH athletic department contributed to this report.
