FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Matt Gibson of Hawaii took a shot over LaTech's Harry Disy last night.

’Bows end skid vs. LaTech

UH wins its first game against the Bulldogs in its past seven tries

After three years, Louisiana Tech's hex over Hawaii is finally over.

The Rainbow Warriors had lost six straight to the Bulldogs -- often in heartbreaking fashion -- entering last night's Western Athletic Conference contest at the Stan Sheriff Center. This time, the Rainbows pulled ahead early and stayed there in a resounding 74-50 win before a crowd of 4,484.

Hawaii, which had lost those six games by a total of 13 points, drained nine of its season-high 12 3-pointers in the first half and didn't let this one come down to another dramatic finish.

"It doesn't make up for the six losses, but it sure feels good tonight," UH coach Riley Wallace said.

The Rainbows won for the fourth time in their last five games and take a 14-10 overall record and 5-6 WAC mark into tomorrow's game against second-place New Mexico State.

Louisiana Tech dropped to 7-17 and 5-7 as the teams traded places in the WAC standings. Hawaii moved into sixth place, a half-game ahead of the Bulldogs.

UH forward Bobby Nash led the Rainbows with 18 points, while the point-guard combo of Matt Gibson and Dominic Waters had 16 each.

Gibson nailed five of six 3-pointers, while Waters was 5-for-5 from the field with four treys and the 'Bows shot 53 percent from the field.

"We played a full game," Gibson said. "Finished it and our defense and our shooters were working well.

"We're working hard on 'D' and when you play hard good things happen. Right now we're just doing the right things and hopefully we can carry it over to Monday."

Guard Matt Lojeski hadn't practiced much during the week due to a sore right foot and finished with eight points and four assists.

"He was OK," Wallace said of UH's leading scorer. "We had a week off and his conditioning was hurting him more than the foot."

LaTech guard Trey McDowell lived up to his name in the first half by hitting four 3-pointers, but he scored just two points in the second half to finish with a team-high 18 points. Forward Chad McKenzie, LaTech's leading scorer entering the game, was held to five points on 2-for-9 shooting.

"(Hawaii) shot the ball extremely well, whether we were in zone or we were in man," LaTech coach Keith Richard said. "I'm disappointed in my team in that we got away from our game plan, which was to try to control the tempo and not move it up and down the floor at their pace. ... That's been our way, we got out of that and got spanked for it."

Louisiana Tech shot 29 percent from the field and Hawaii came up with 10 steals and blocked four shots in the win. The Bulldogs shot 44 percent in their 70-67 win over UH in Ruston on Jan. 6.

"We didn't have the defense (in the first meeting) we're playing now," Nash said. "We have guys rotating and switching and it makes it hard for a team to score when you've got five guys coming at you full tilt. And if somebody gets beat you know somebody's got your back."

Other than LaTech's 42-31 rebounding edge and 26 offensive boards, Wallace said the Rainbows' defense "was the best tonight it's been all year."

By the time the teams went to the locker room for halftime, the Rainbows had made a season-high nine 3-pointers to take a 40-28 lead into the break.

Gibson and Waters combined to make seven of eight from behind the arc in the first half and the Rainbows were 9-for-15 as a team. Gibson had 13 points at halftime and Waters scored 11 off the bench.

McDowell matched the Rainbow shooters early, going 4-for-5 from 3-point range on his way to 16 first-half points.

After McDowell drained back-to-back 3s to bring the Bulldogs to within 27-26 at the 4:14 mark, the Rainbows took off on a 13-2 run. Gibson started the run with a trey and Waters ended it with two more and the Rainbows held LaTech without a field goal in that span.

Hawaii's lead grew to 15 when Lojeski hit a shot while being knocked to the court. He made the ensuing free throw to give the 'Bows a 48-33 advantage with 14:29 left.

An alley-oop dunk by P.J. Owsley off a lob from Waters sparked a 17-2 run that erased any lingering doubt. Nash, Waters and Gibson all hit 3-pointers in the spurt.