HENDERSON, Nev.  – A resilient University of Hawai'i men's basketball team dug deep to pull off a thrilling  68-67 quarterfinal win over UC Riverside in the Hercules Tires Big West Championships Thursday night at The Dollar Loan Center. With the win, the Rainbow Warriors advance to Friday's tournament semifinals where they will face No. 2 seed Cal State Fullerton at 8:30 p.m.
 
Third-seeded UH (17-10) entered the game having been bounced from the tournament quarterfinals four straight times. The 'Bows got that monkey off their back with their first win in the Big West Tournament since the 2016 finals. UH did it against the same Highlander (16-12) squad who eliminated them from last year's tournament quarterfinal.
 
Junior Madut scored a team-high 17 points and had several key baskets down the stretch to lift UH. Jerome Desrosiers was also came up big late and posted his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Amoro Lado added 12 points to highlight another strong effort by the UH  bench, which also included nine big points from Mate Colina.
 
Zyon Pullin (23 points) and Flynn Cameron (17) combined for 40 points to lead a Highlander squad that shot 47 percent from the three (9-of-17) and buried all 10 of their free throws.
 
UH, however, shot 54 percent in the second half, buried 14-of-16 free throws overall and owned the sixth-seeded Highlanders on the glass with a 41-27 advantage in rebounds to claim the victory.
 
The first half was an offensive struggle for UH who missed 16 of its first 20 shots. The 'Bows fell behind by as many 10 points, but stayed within striking distance. UH closed the half on a 8-1 run, capped by a Madut buzzer-beating three to get within one, 31-30, at the break.
 
UH took that momentum into the second half and built its lead to as many as five points, 60-55, on a Kamaka Hepa three-pointer with 5:29 left. From there it was a dog fight as UCR reclaimed the lead twice in the next three minutes. UH trailed 63-62 butt got back-to-back buckets by Madut and Desroisers to take a lead they would not relinquish.  
 
With UH up 68-67 with six seconds left, UCR fouled. After Madut missed the front end of a one-and-one, UCR had one final chance to win the game. But Wil Tattersall's three-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer was off the mark.
 
The 'Bows will now play in the Big West semifinals for the third time in the last seven years and seeks its first finals appearance since winning the title in 2016.