Hawaii played the odds, and Anthony Marshall made the Rainbow Warriors pay.
The UNLV point guard took advantage of UH’s defensive game plan to score 14 of his 19 points in the second half, coming up with several big baskets as the No. 19 Runnin’ Rebels held off UH 74-69 before a New Year’s Eve crowd of about 5,000 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
UH (8-6), gunning for its second win over a ranked team in just over a week, made push after push in the second half only to be turned back each time.
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NEXT: UH vs. San Jose State, Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
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Marshall’s driving two-handed dunk for a 72-64 lead with 1:26 left might have been the dagger, but even then the ‘Bows showed no quit. They scrambled to within 72-69 on two Hauns Brereton free throws with 22 seconds left, but couldn’t come up with a steal on the final UNLV possession.
UH junior forward Joston Thomas had his second straight double-double, going for 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Junior center Vander Joaquim overcame foul trouble to score all of his 15 points in the second half, while senior guard Zane Johnson scored all of his 12 in the first half. He went out with a bruised rib late in the game, robbing UH of its best scorer during crunch time.
The ‘Bows had their three-game winning streak snapped, while the Rebels (15-2) won for the seventh time in eight games after stringing UH along within single digits for the entire second half.
"It’s very frustrating. Good looks, close shots to the rim, offensive rebound, miss," Arnold said. "I’m mad we didn’t win. This team deserved to win that game. This team believes that they can win that game. After the game there was silence and guys were upset. I like that. It hurts, but with that we’re not going to bow our heads at all. We’re going to keep them high and we’re going to get ready for the WAC this week."
UH hosts San Jose State on Saturday in the Western Athletic Conference opener.
Arnold decided his team’s defensive strategy against the athletic, run-and-gun Rebels should be to key on UNLV’s other point guard, Oscar Bellfield, and sharpshooting swingman Chace Stanback. It was a calculated risk against a team bristling with weaponry.
Hawaii succeeded in that Bellfield and Stanback were mostly nonfactors after halftime. But the 6-foot-3 Marshall (8-for-15 shooting to go with 13 rebounds) sprung free for takes and open jumpers at several critical junctures, helping lead to 51.6 percent second-half shooting for the visitors.
"I think you gotta play the odds on that. No pun intended, with them being a Las Vegas team," Arnold said. "You take someone out to give up something. And the game plan was we’re going to take out their two best players and make the three (other) guys beat us. And you know what, tonight they were good enough to beat us. … Would I do it the same way again? You bet."
UNLV forward Mike Moser added 15 points and 12 rebounds and Stanback (6-for-7 shooting) scored 11 of his 13 points before halftime.
UH trailed by seven at the break and engaged the Rebels in a spirited game of chase, getting tantalizingly close several times — particularly at 58-56 after three straight Thomas baskets — but never earned a tie.
The Rebels held UH to 34.3 percent shooting with aggressive pressure and on-ball defense that got the ‘Bows out of many of their offensive sets.
"They’re not Top 25 for no reason," Thomas said. "The mistakes we did make … they capitalized on it. That’s why they’re where they at. You can’t play a game and go mistake-less. It’s not going to be a perfect game for anyone. Unfortunately, they capitalized on our mistakes and we just gotta give it to them. They’re a good ball club."
First-year Rebels coach Dave Rice attributed his team’s late-game fortitude to a tough schedule that included a win over then-No. 1 UNC in late November.
"There was great energy in the building. We know how great an offensive team Hawaii is and how well they play at home," Rice said. "So we knew there would be runs, and that’s one thing our team has been able to do all year long, is to find a way to answer runs."
The ‘Bows had to alter their pound-it-inside offensive game plan early when Joaquim was assessed his third foul 9 minutes into the game, and UH fell behind by 10 after leading 5-1.
Both teams were coming off 100-point outings, but struggled from the field early, with UH starting 3-for-21 and UNLV 4-for-17.
