RAINBOWS ROUGHED UP IN RENO...

The University of Hawaii men's basketball team found the going rough in Reno, falling to Nevada, 88-68, Saturday afternoon at the Lawlor Events Center. The loss snapped UH's three-game win streak and dropped the Rainbow Warriors (10-12, 6-4 WAC) to fifth-place in the crowded Western Athletic Conference standings.Hawai`i remained winless in 11 all-time trips to Reno, while falling to the Wolf Pack (15-8, 7-3) for the fifth straight time.
Nevada rode the sweet stroke of its star shooting guard early, then wore down the depleted 'Bows inside in the second half. Marcelus Kemp scored 20 of this game-high 25 points in the first half to lead the Wolf Pack to a double-digit lead at the break. JaVale McGee, meanwhile, tied his career high, scoring 12 of his 20 points in the second frame as Nevada extended its lead to as many as 24 points in the second half. The sophomore also added 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Matt Gibson finished with a team-high 23 points for UH and reached a milestone during the game. Gibson's free throw with 7:49 left in the game gave him his 1000th career point as he became just the 13th player in program history to accomplish the feat. Bill Amis also gave a strong effort for the 'Bows while holding up the frontcourt with the absence of P.J. Owsley. Amis tied his career-highs with 16 points and nine rebounds and also added three blocks.
After going back-and-forth in the first five minutes, Nevada went up for good on a Kemp three-pointer at the 14:28 mark of the first half. UH hung tough for most of the half, but Kemp scored eight straight points for the Wolf Pack in the final 82 seconds to extend the Nevada lead to 44-33 going into the locker room. The 6-5 senior guard, who scored a season-high 29 points in Honolulu earlier this year, drained four three-pointers and shot 7-of-9 from the floor in the first half alone.
UH held Kemp in check in the second half, but the UH offense fizzled, scoring just four points in the opening 7:31 of the second frame. The Wolf Pack, meanwhile, went to the foul line 20 times in the second half and built its lead to as many as 24 points as they cruised to victory.
Nevada shot 61 percent from the floor and drained 11 three-pointers for the game. Hawai`i, meanwhile, shot 44 percent, but missed 13 of its 17 three-point attempts.
UH next returns home to host first-place Utah State on Saturday, Feb. 16. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawaiiathletics.com