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LAS VEGAS – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team fell on the short end of a furious finish with a 75-74 loss to San Jose State in the opening round of the 2011 Verizon Western Atheltic Conference Tournament Wednesday afternoon at the Orleans Arena. Adrian Oliver hit the go-ahead bucket with five seconds remaining, while Bill Amis' ensuing tip-in at the buzzer was waved off.

 

Despite the loss, UH's turnaround season is not over. The team has accepted a bid to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament and will host Portland in an opening round game in Honolulu on Tuesday, March 15. It is UH's first postseason berth in seven years.

 

The No. 5 seed Rainbow Warriors (18-12) entered the WAC Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the league. UH had swept San Jose State (16-14) in the regular season--including a 77-71 win less than a week ago--but was unable to complete the trifecta against the eight seeded Spartans. It was the Rainbow Warriors sixth straight loss in the WAC Tournament dating back to 2005.

 

Oliver finished with a game-high 29 points to lead SJSU into a quarterfinal match-up against No. 4 seed Idaho. Will Carter added 15 points, while Keith Shamburger scored all 12 of his points in the second half.

 

Amis led UH with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while also adding six rebounds and three blocks. Joston Thomas scored 16 points off the bench, Zane Johnson added 14 points and Jeremiah Ostrowski recorded eight assists and three steals.

 

UH shot 50 percent from the floor, but struggled from deep (4-15 on three-pointers) and at the charity stripe (18-of-30).

 

For the second straight game UH got off to a slow start and fell down by seven points twice. However, the 'Bows finally got in rhythm and took their first lead at the 7:23 mark. UH built a seven-point lead of their own before eventually taking a 42-37 lead into the locker room. UH shot a sizzling 61 percent from the floor with Amis pouring in 14 points by the break.

 

UH led for most of the second half and took a 59-52 lead on a Bo Barnes three-pointer with 10 minutes remaining. The Spartans, however, rallied and took a 73-68 lead on a Justin Graham jumper with 1:53. The 'Bows answered back with six straight points and a pair of Amis free throws with 21 seconds left gave UH the lead again.

 

After Oliver nailed a jumper from the top of the key with five seconds remaining, the Bows pushed the ball up court. Ostrowski's driving layup was blocked by Carter, but Amis came to tip in the ball as the buzzer sounded. However, after video review, the officials waved off the potential game-winner.