Hawaii beats No. 14 Xavier 84-82 in overtime
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Joston Thomas made a layup from the baseline with 0.8 seconds left in overtime to give Hawaii an 84-82 comeback victory over No. 14 Xavier on Friday night in the Diamond Head Classic, the Musketeers' third straight loss since a bench-clearing brawl Dec. 10 against Cincinnati.
Hawaii, down by 15 early in the second half of the consolation semifinal, tied it at 77 on Hauns Brereton's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2.0 seconds left in regulation.
Thomas finished with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting and had nine rebounds. Vander Joaquim added 20 points for Hawaii (6-5), Zane Johnson had 14 and Brereton 13.
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The victory was Hawaii's first over a ranked team since it beat then-No. 4 Michigan State in November 2005.
On the winning play, Thomas found Johnson on the inbounds pass. Johnson penetrated the lane before passing to Thomas, whose right-handed shot circled the rim before falling through. A desperation heave by Xavier from about 75 feet as time expired was well short.
Tu Holloway led Xavier (8-3) with 26 points, Mark Lyons had 18 and Kenny Frease 13. Xavier has lost three straight for the first time under coach Chris Mack.
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Lyons played for the first time since the victory over Cincinnati. He was one of three Musketeers suspended for their parts in the altercation.
Holloway, who returned from his one-game suspension Thursday in a first-round loss to Long Beach State, was 4 of 8 from 3-point range and 7 of 16 overall. He also had six assists.
Holloway left the game briefly with an apparent right (shooting) hand injury early in the game.
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Xavier opened the game on a 12-0 run and stretched the lead to 15 with 17:17 remaining in regulation.
Johnson's 3-pointer pulled Hawaii to 75-74 with 3:10 to play, but Holloway answered for the Musketeers with a 3-pinter with 24 seconds. Brereton then hit his tying 3-pointer off an assist from Jeremiah Ostrowski.
Hawaii took its first lead on the first possession of overtime on Joaquim's dunk.
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The Rainbow Warriors, who rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to Auburn on Thursday, will face Clemson in the fifth-place game Sunday. The Musketeers will play Southern Illinois for seventh place.