LIHU‘E — The ‘Bows squandered a seven-point lead with under 90 seconds to play as the University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball season came to an unceremonious close in a 77-74 loss to San Francisco, Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Playing in the second round of the CollegeInsiders.com Tournament, Hawai‘i (19-13) built up a 10-point lead in the opening half, then went up 73-66 with 1:22 remaining in the game on a pair of Jeremiah Ostrowski free throws.
That’s when the Dons picked up the pace and got the comeback started.
Rashad Green was fouled by Trevor Wiseman on a three-point attempt. He knocked down all three foul shots, cutting the deficit to four.
Zane Johnson was sent to the line, but made 1-of-2 for a 74-69 lead.
Green knocked down a quick jumper and USF had it back to a one-possession game at 74-71 with 1:01 remaining.
Ostrowski was fouled and went to the line, but missed both his attempts, leading to a Cody Doolin bucket with 48 seconds left, USF now down just one at 74-73.
The ‘Bows worked the clock all the way down, ending up with a three-point shot from Johnson, which did not fall. The Dons gathered the rebound and Doolin was the man again, as he nailed a jumper with six seconds to play, giving USF its first lead since it scored the game’s first bucket.
After a timeout, UH could not even get a shot off, turning the ball over and fouling Green, who made both free throws to create the final math.
San Francisco (19-14) was led by Green’s 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He also hauled in 15 rebounds — six of them offensive — and handed out four assists while nailing two 3-pointers.
Perris Blackwell had 14 points for the victors, while Doolin finished with 13. Michael Williams added 11, but was just 3-of-18 from the field.
For the ‘Bows, five players scored in double figures with Johnson, Vander Joaquim and Wiseman all leading the way with 13 apiece. Bill Amis and Joston Thomas followed with 12.
Amis closed his season with another double-double, pulling down 13 rebounds. The Western Athletic Conference’s leader in blocks per game also swatted four shots.
Johnson’s fine touch from long-range has been his calling card all season and the main reason he led UH in points per game. But he did not find his stroke Saturday night, going 1-of-9 from three-point range and 4-of-13 overall from the field.
Ostrowski scored nine points and had six assists, but also turned the ball over eight times, allowing the Dons to stay in the ballgame.
USF holds a 10-4 all-time lead in the head-to-head series with UH.
San Francisco now moves on to face Santa Clara in the CIT quarterfinals, Tuesday.
