ANAHEIM, Calif. — Aaron Valdes scored 14 points, Stefan Jankovic scored all 10 of his points in the second half, and Hawaii hung on late to beat Long Beach State 64-60 in the Big West Conference Tournament championship game Saturday
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Aaron Valdes scored 14 points, Stefan Jankovic scored all 10 of his points in the second half, and Hawaii hung on late to beat Long Beach State 64-60 in the Big West Conference Tournament championship game Saturday night.
The Rainbow Warriors (27-5) earned an automatic bid to their fifth NCAA Tournament and first since 2002.
Top-seeded Hawaii blew a 12-point, second-half lead and was tied at 58, but Jankovic hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:45 to go and the Rainbow Warriors made it stand up.
Nick Faust scored 17 points before fouling out to lead the third-seeded 49ers (20-14).
Justin Bibbins missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer for Long Beach State with 5 seconds to go, and Noah Blackwell and A.J. Spencer missed potential go-ahead 3s in the final 90 seconds as well. The 49ers finished 5 for 22 from 3-point range.
The Rainbow Warriors took their first double-digit-point lead on Jovanovic’s layup just under two minutes into the second half, and Sheriff Drammeh capped an 8-3 run with a 3-pointer that put Hawaii up 44-32, its largest lead of the game, with 13:25 to play.
Travis Hammonds brought the 49ers back, scoring 10 points in less than five minutes to help rally Long Beach State within a basket, 49-47, with 8:42 to play minutes to go.
Hawaii managed to hold its slim lead until the 3:54 mark, when Faust nailed a 3-pointer to tie it at 56.
Faust fouled out with 3:27 left, though, and the 49ers were without their leading scorer down the stretch.
Jankovic took advantage and swung the momentum back Hawaii’s way with his 3-pointer to make it 61-58, and that was enough room for the Rainbow Warriors to hold on in the final breathless minutes.
Valdes was named tournament MVP and Jankovic was selected to the all-tournament team.
TIP-INS
Long Beach State: Hammonds also fouled out with 1:06 remaining. … The 49ers only led for 6:49 of the game and never led in the second half. … They dropped to 5-6 all-time in Big West Tournament championship games.
Hawaii: The Rainbow Warriors won the rebounding battle 35-30. They are 23-0 when winning the rebounding battle this season. … Jankovic, the conference Player of the Year, played only seven minutes of the first half because of foul trouble. … They tied the school record for wins in a season.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State: Awaits a possible postseason bid.
Hawaii: Finds out its NCAA Tournament seed Sunday.
