RUSTON, La. » Louisiana Tech seemed more jet-lagged than Hawaii early Saturday, but that trend changed in a hurry.

The Rainbow Warriors (15-13, 6-6) appeared on their way to spoiling the Bulldogs’ senior celebration with a 9-1 start, but then the home team’s defense and 3-point shooting turned the table.

Tech (15-14, 5-7) turned up the heat on both ends en route to the 84-67 victory, leaving the ‘Bows winless on their grueling three-game road swing.

"They got hot from deep and hit some 3s that kinda got ’em back into that game," Hawaii coach Gib Arnold said. "Their guards are big and athletic, and we’ve got little guards, and they were able to cause some turnovers. They did a good job of playing to their advantage, which was their athleticism, and their defense kind of spurted them on."

The Rainbow Warriors did not appear hindered early by their 10-day, near-11,000-mile road trip or the 11 a.m. Hawaii time tip-off, and junior center Vander Joaquim called the travel a non-issue.

Arnold’s squad darted to a quick eight-point advantage as Louisiana Tech struggled to sink shots.

The Bulldogs missed five of their first six 3-point attempts during a 4-for-14 start from the floor.

Tech flipped the script on Hawaii from there, though,

The ‘Bows turned the ball over 22 times, two days after a season-high 24 giveaways at New Mexico State. Meanwhile, their hosts drained four straight and five of six 3-pointers to take control.

"We went out there, and everybody played hard," Joaquim said. "Everybody gave their heart. They were just the better team tonight."

Louisiana Tech used a 12-2 run late in the opening half and scored 19 of the first 26 points after the midway mark to establish a 61-41 advantage.

Hawaii battled back to within 65-57 with about 6 minutes to play, but Tech responded in unusual fashion to regain control and ice the victory.

Officials called Joaquim for a foul away from the ball as Bulldogs sophomore guard Kenyon McNeail drained a 3-pointer to begin a five-point possession, 11 unanswered points and a 19-10 finish for the home team.

"We got back into playing defense, caused some turnovers and rebounded and were able to run and cut it to eight and had some momentum going," Arnold said. "Then there was that big five-point play, which kind of ended our momentum, which was unfortunate.

"I thought if that foul goes the other way, all of sudden it’s our ball down eight, and I think we make a run, but that put them back up 13 with no time coming off the clock."

Louisiana Tech senior guard Trevor Gaskins led all scorers in his final home game with a career night of 22 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and one turnover. Junior guard Brandon Gibson added 16 points and six rebounds for a Bulldogs squad that found multiple post players in early foul trouble.

Joaquim finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds for his 11th double-double on the season, and senior guard Zane Johnson broke back into double figures for the first time in six games with 11 points.

Senior guard Miah Ostrowski also dished out 10 assists for UH.

"Vander played really well, and there was a spurt there of about 12 minutes in that second half we played really good defense," Arnold said. "We haven’t been playing great defense, and for about 12 minutes there straight, I had a group in there that played their hearts out. I was really proud of that, and we’re gonna try to build on that."

The ‘Bows finally return home today to prepare for games Thursday against Idaho (16-12, 7-5) and Saturday against Utah State (15-14, 6-6).

"We’ve been 11,000 miles," Arnold said. "We’re ready to get home for sure."

WAC STANDINGS

Saturday
Lousiana Tech 84, Hawaii 67
Nevada 79, Fresno State 76, 3 OTs
New Mexico State 79, San Jose State 68

LOUISIANA TECH 84, HAWAII 67
RAINBOW WARRIORS (15-13, 6-6)

BULLDOGS (15-14, 5-7 WAC)

Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.

Halftime — Louisiana Tech 42, Hawaii 36

3-points goals — Hawaii 5-15 (Johnson 3-8, Brereton 1-1, Stokes 1-5, Ostrowski 0-1). Lousiana Tech 11-24 (Gaskins 4-10, McNeail 2-3, Johnson 2-4, Gibson 2-6, Smith 1-1). Steals — Hawaii 7 (Brereton 2, Joaquim, Johnson, Ostrowski, Miles, Wiseman). Lousiana Tech 9 (Smith 3, Souza, Gibson, Appleby, Gaskins, Kyser, Lewis). Blocked shots — Hawaii 2 (Brereton, Joaquim). Louisiana Tech 4 (Kyser 2, Souza, Smith). Officials — Ronnie Hernandez, Doran Gotschall, Casey McClellan. A — NA.