In the WAC last (Saturday) night

Hawaii was the team seemingly afflicted with island-itis as the Rainbow Warriors got stomped by Colorado State 74-58. Here's the first report:

'Bows Rammed
Colorado State pulls away from Hawaii in the second half for an easy tourney win
Brian McInnis
Honolulu Star Bulletin
December 28, 2008

Maybe the lights should have stayed off.

For the second time in four years, the same former Western Athletic Conference rival foiled Hawaii in its signature tournament. One night after an island-wide blackout, Colorado State stunned the listless Rainbow Warriors, 74-58, before a crowd of 3,958 in the opening round of the 45th Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbows are banished to the consolation bracket and can do no better than fifth place in the swan song of the longest-running eight-team tournament in the country. A first-time Classic winner is now guaranteed on Tuesday...

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and

Colorado State stops UH, 74-58
Dayton Morinaga
Honolulu Advertiser

Afternoon or not, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team was once again banished to the consolation bracket of its own Rainbow Classic.

Colorado State used a strong second-half surge to defeat Hawai'i, 74-58, on the opening night of the 45th Annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic last night.

A crowd of 3,958 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors end a six-game home winning streak to drop to 6-4. The Rams ended a six-game losing streak to improve to 4-8...

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Nevada came away a winner although it was closer than we expected.

Pack basketball: Nevada escapes Idaho State
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
December 28, 2008

After the Nevada basketball team’s ragged win over Idaho State on Saturday night, coach Mark Fox said he was disappointed with a lot of the ways his team played.

What aspects of the Wolf Pack’s play disappointed Fox the most?

“I’m not sure you’ve got enough ink in your pen for that, to be honest with you,” the coach said.

Still, after watching a nine-point halftime lead evaporate in the second half, Nevada was able to walk away with a 68-63 victory in front of 5,938 fans at Lawlor Events Center. A lot of the credit for that goes to Luke Babbitt, Malik Cooke and the team’s aggressive attacking of the basket in the second half...

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Or try this report from Darrell Moody:

Wolf Pack edges scrappy Idaho State
Darrell Moody
Nevada Appeal

RENO — It certainly wasn’t the way you want to see your basketball team play with a game against undefeated and top-ranked North Carolina just four days away.

Nevada shot a below-average 37.5 percent from the field and needed some late heroics by Luke Babbitt and Brandon Fields to hold off Idaho State 68-63 before a crowd of 5,938 at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday.

The win upped Nevada’s record to 7-5 entering Wednesday’s nonconference finale against the Tar Heels. Idaho State, which has played the toughest schedule in the country this season, dropped to 2-10.

“We were lucky that we won when we didn’t play well,” said Nevada coach Mark Fox, whose team was outscored 40-36 in the second half. “That is no disrespect to Idaho State. Hopefully we can learn those lessons in a win, not a loss...

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San Jose State had its chances but the big three of St. Mary's proved too much:

MORAGA, Calif. (AP) - Patrick Mills scored 11 of his 17 points during a key run early in the second half and Saint Mary's won its eighth straight game with a hard-fought 87-78 victory over San Jose State on Saturday night in the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic.

Diamon Simpson added 20 points and 13 rebounds and now needs only 19 boards to break the school record of 916 set by Tom Meschery from 1958-62. Simpson already holds the Gaels' mark for blocked shots.

Omar Samhan had 21 points, five rebounds and four assists for Saint Mary's (11-1), which will play Sunday against Morgan State (5-6), a 70-68 winner over William Jessup on a buzzer beater in Saturday's first game.

Adrian Oliver, the Spartans' prized transfer from Washington, scored 22 points to lead San Jose State (5-4), which had its three-game winning streak snapped. C.J. Webster added 15 points and Chris Oakes 12 points and six rebounds...

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and

Here's the take via the San Francisco Chronicle.