Box Score LOGAN, Utah – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team put together a late rally but it wasn't enough in a 77-72 loss at Utah State Thursday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. With the loss, the Rainbow Warriors dropped to 11-9 overall and 3-3 in the Western Athletic Conference.
 
The loss was UH's third in its last four games and put the Rainbow Warriors in a three-way tie for fourth place in the WAC standings with Utah State (11-10, 3-3 WAC)  and Louisiana Tech (11-10, 3-3 WAC).
 
The 'Bows lost despite another monster effort by Vander Joaquim who recorded his second straight double-double. The junior center tied his career-high with 24 points, while also adding 14 rebounds. Joston Thomas also posted a double-double for UH with  14 points and 10 rebounds while Hauns Brereton added 15 points and six rebounds.
 
UH took full advantage of its strong inside game, out-rebounding the Aggies, 48-28. The 'Bows however couldn't find their shooting touch, particularly from three-point range, where they buried just 3-of-17 attempts.
 
UH also couldn't find an answer for Preston Meddlin who finished with a game-high 25 points. The sophomore guard did most of his damage from the free throw line (13-of-14) were he scored more than half his points. As a team the Aggies, converted on 23-of-29 from the line and shot an efficient 49 percent from the field.  Utah State improved to 9-1 against UH in Logan, including 7-0 in WAC regular-season action.
 
The early stages of the game were nip-and-tuck with two ties and seven lead changes in the first eight minutes. UH held an 11-10 edge, but the Aggies went on a 13-2 run to take a double-digit lead. Utah State eventually took a 38-30 lead into the locker room.
 
The Aggies eventually built its lead to as many as 15 points, 61-46, midway through the second half. But the 'Bows wouldn't fold and rallied to within five points, 66-61, on a Trevor Wiseman bucket with just under three minutes remaining. UH got within four, 73-69, with 21 seconds left. But that would be as close as it would get as the Aggies sealed the game on the free throw line.
 
UH will complete its two-game road swing with a contest at Idaho on Saturday, Jan. 28. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. PT (6:00 p.m. HT) at the Cowan Spectrum.