LIHU‘E — The Warriors sent off three seniors in victorious fashion with their final home game of the 2010-11 season, Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Hawai‘i (17-10, 7-7 Western Athletic) picked up at 76-70 win over New Mexico
LIHU‘E — The Warriors sent off three seniors in victorious fashion with their final home game of the 2010-11 season, Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawai‘i (17-10, 7-7 Western Athletic) picked up at 76-70 win over New Mexico State (14-15, 8-6 WAC), making it eight wins in its past 10 games.
Zane Johnson led the way with 22 points, knocking down six 3-pointers on the night.
The tandem of Bill Amis and Vander Joaquim each had double-doubles as the duo continues to become one of the conference’s most formidable frontcourts.
Joaquim ended up with 18 points and 15 rebounds, while shooting 7-of-10 from the floor.
The big man also blocked five shots.
Amis went for 14 points and 11 boards.
Amis was one of the three seniors who got the honorary start, along with guard Hiram Thompson and center Douglas Kurtz.
Thompson was unable to play and came off the court just after the tip-off.
Kurtz played four minutes and had two points and two rebounds.
Johnson was 8-of-14 from the floor, including 6-of-12 from long distance.
Trevor Wiseman had nine points and five rebounds.
Bo Barnes had a perfect shooting night, going 1 for 1 from the floor, nailing a 3-pointer, and also going 4 for 4 from the free-throw line for his seven points.
Kurtz, Jeremiah Ostrowski and Joston Thomas each scored two points apiece to round out the UH attack.
Christian Kabongo had 22 points to lead New Mexico State, which also got 15 points from Hernst Laroche and 14 from Gordo Castillo.
The ‘Bows shot 45 percent for the game, while NMSU was just over 36 percent.
Hawai‘i led by 11 with 5:43 left in the first half, but the Aggies used a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to 35-33 at intermission.
Amis’ layup off Joaquim’s assist capped a 16-4 run gave the Rainbow Warriors their largest lead at 58-45 with just under 12 minutes left.
The Aggies, however, chipped into the lead and came within just four points late in the game.
But Johnson nailed a huge three-pointer to give UH a seven-point advantage with 1:33 left.
The ‘Bows held a 42-30 edge on the glass, helping to offset their 16 turnovers.
The Rainbow Warriors will now conclude their WAC regular season schedule on the road with a pair of games in California, beginning with a meeting against San Jose State on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. PT (5:30 p.m. HT) at the Event Center.
They will then conclude the season with a road date at Fresno State on Saturday at 8 p.m. PT (5 p.m. HT).
That leads to the WAC Championship tournament, which runs from March 9-12 in Las Vegas.
With those two regular-season games remaining, UH sits in a tie for fifth place in the conference.
The Associated Press and UH athletic department contributed to this report.
