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Utah State spoils senior night for UH basketball team

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BRUCE ASATO/BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii's Joston Thomas grabs a rebound over Utah State's Morgan Grim in the second half of the Utah State vs Hawaii basketball game at Stan Sheriff Center.

The University of Hawaii basketball team’s losing streak continued in stunning fashion tonight as Utah State pulled out a 61-60 win at the Stan Sheriff Center.

With the Rainbow Warriors leading by a point, Utah State’s Morgan Grim got a shot in the lane to drop with 7 seconds left. UH couldn’t get a shot off on the other end and closed the regular season with its fifth straight loss.

Utah State guard Brockeith Pane led the Aggies with 20 points and recovered a loose ball in the final seconds and the frantic conclusion put a damper on senior night for the Rainbows (15-15, 6-8 Western Athletic Conference).

UH forward Joston Thomas led the Rainbows with 19 points, and senior guard Miah Ostrowski had 13 points and four assists in his final home game. Fellow senior Zane Johnson finished with 10 points.

The Rainbows took a 31-29 lead into halftime and opened the second half with a 9-2 run highlighted by 3-pointers by Ostrowski and Johnson.

UH maintained a cushion into the final minutes, but Pane’s jumper with 1:40 left brought the Aggies to 58-57.

After Johnson made one of two free throws, Preston Medlin (19 points) hit a shot from the right side to tie the game with just under a minute left.

Thomas was fouled on a shot with 37 seconds remaining and made the first free throw before missing the second.

After Grim’s shot gave the Aggies (17-14, 8-6) their first lead of the second half, Ostrowski lost control of the ball on a drive. Pane recovered the loose ball near the baseline and tossed the ball downcourt to run out the clock.

With the loss, UH will be the sixth seed in next week’s WAC tournament in Las Vegas and will face third seeded Idaho in the first round on Thursday.

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