LAS VEGAS >> Hauns Brereton hit a baseline jumper with 3.2 seconds left and Vander Joaquim stole Idaho’s last-gasp fullcourt inbounds pass as Hawaii earned its first WAC tournament win since 2005, a 72-70 decision over the Vandals at the Orleans Arena today.

Sixth-seeded UH (16-15) moves on to the WAC semifinals to face No. 2 New Mexico State on Friday at 6 p.m., Pacific Time.

With the upset win, the Rainbow Warriors snapped a season-worst five-game losing streak and six straight WAC tournament losses.

"I don’t think we’ve won a game in seven years at the WAC tournament, and I give all the credit to these guys for stepping up and doing it," UH coach Gib Arnold said of his players. 

On the winning play, Idaho guard Deremy Geiger stripped the ball from Shaquille Stokes on Stokes’ way to the basket. But Brereton was in the right place at the right time along the right baseline and his 15-foot jumper bounced through.

The last time UH was in the WAC semifinals was in 2003, when Riley Wallace was coach. UH also avenged a 19-point home loss to the Vandals last Thursday, and did it without one of the ‘Bows leading scorers, guard Zane Johnson. Stokes started in his stead, scoring 17 points.

It was a back-and-forth affair that had UH up by 11 points early in the second half on third-seeded UI (18-13). But the Vandals got back in it with a 3-point barrage in the second half and went up by seven with 6:25 left. By then, it seemed UH had lost its cool with technical fouls assigned to forward Joston Thomas (earning him a disqualification with 12 minutes left) and Arnold.

But Joaquim, an All-WAC first-team selection, played big in going for 20 points and 13 rebounds against UI center Kyle Barone (19 points). Brereton added 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting, and earned his first career double-double with 11 rebounds.

"We did miss Zane Johnson, but we knew we had to step up because of it," Brereton said. "That’s what we had to do today."

Senior point guard Miah Ostrowski had nine assists against one turnover, as UH tied its season low with seven giveaways. The ‘Bows also out-rebounded the Vandals 41-33.

With UI up 64-57, UH went on a 7-0 run to tie the game on a Stokes quick-trigger 3 with 3:08 remaining.

Brereton scored on a baseline take and got two free throws with under 2 minutes left to put UH up by three, but UI’s Geiger countered with a three-point play with 50.8 seconds left to tie it up at 68.

Joaquim scored on a putback of a Stokes miss with 29.5 seconds left for a 70-68 lead.

Coming out of UH’s final timeout, Barone scored inside with 17.6 seconds left to tie it up for the final time. On the final play, UH cleared out for Stokes at the top of the key and the freshman drove right, but into the teeth of the UI defense.

Fortuitously, the ball bounced into the hands of Brereton, who didn’t hesitate.

UH enjoyed a seven-point halftime lead, and pushed it back up to 11 points to start the second half.

But UI pushed back, getting to within 41-39 on Geiger’s first basket of the game. The Vandals hit three straight 3s for a 45-41 advantage, but Stokes came back with a three-point play and Thomas put UH up on a runner to make it 46-45.

Soon after, Thomas fouled out with about 12 minutes left. He picked up a personal foul and a technical for protesting the call, resulting in five fouls.

Joaquim and Stokes each scored 10 points in the first half, as the UH starting five had all of UH’s points going into halftime up 35-28.