Hawaii takes down Fresno State

It wasn't always the prettiest to watch but the effort on the court was everpresent. No game comes down to a single play but certainly a key play was freshman Bryce Cartwright going for a stolen pass and missing and Kareem Nitoto's subsequent layup. Nobody seemed to rotate over to shut off Nitoto's drive.

From Daniel Lyght:

Hawaii men sweep past Bulldogs
Fresno State unable to rally in final minutes vs. Warriors.
Daniel Lyght
The Fresno Bee
February 20, 2009

Prime time was Sylvester Seay's time Thursday night at the Save Mart Center, but his 22 points, rim-shaking dunks, and soft shooting touch couldn't lift Fresno State over Hawaii in a nationally televised game on ESPN2.

The Bulldogs lost 73-69 in the return game of the Western Athletic Conference series, completing the Warriors' season sweep.

Still, Thursday night's contest went much more smoothly than the first meeting between the teams, in which the Bulldogs were trampled 69-43 in Honolulu. The Bulldogs scored just 10 first-half points in that game.

"It was close but we're not there yet because we're not at the point yet where everybody is doing exactly what they need to do at that exact time," coach Steve Cleveland said. "There's a great deal of fight in this group and they're going to compete and not quit, but over 40 minutes we made too many mistakes..."

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Here are a pair of staff reports from the two Hawaii newspapers:

Star-Bulletin staff
Feb 20, 2009

The Rainbow Warriors were steely when it mattered against Fresno State and escaped with a 73-69 victory last night at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.

Roderick Flemings put in 12 of 13 free throws en route to 22 points and 12 rebounds as Hawaii (13-12, 5-8 Western Athletic Conference) moved past idle San Jose State for sole possession of sixth place in the WAC. It was UH's second road victory in WAC play and its second home-and-home sweep of a conference opponent this year.

After allowing Nevada to score the game's final eight points in a 47-46 loss on Saturday, the Rainbows stayed composed late by scoring on six of their final eight possessions.

That included four straight pressure free throws made by Flemings and Kareem Nitoto to put the game away in the final 21 seconds...

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and

UH turns back Fresno State
Flemings has 22 points, 12 rebounds in 'Bows' 73-69 road victory
Advertiser Staff

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team proved it does not belong on the bottom of the Western Athletic Conference with a 73-69 road victory over Fresno State last night.

The Rainbow Warriors moved into sole possession of sixth place in the WAC by completing a home-and-home sweep of the last-place Bulldogs.

In a game nationally televised on ESPN2 from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., Roderick Flemings had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead a balanced Hawai'i attack.

"We didn't do things to beat ourselves," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "We stayed in our offense, we stayed focused no matter what the situation, and I thought our defense really stepped up in the second half."

The 'Bows improved to 13-12 overall and 5-8 in the WAC. Hawai'i may have played itself out of the play-in game for the WAC Tournament because it now owns sweeps of eighth-place Louisiana Tech and ninth-place Fresno State...

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