ANAHEIM, Calif. — Garrett Nevels scored 17 points and fifth-seeded Hawaii advanced in the Big West tournament past fourth-seeded Long Beach State 79-72 on Thursday.
Hawaii (21-12) will face UC Davis (25-5) in the semifinals on Friday. Aaron Valdes added 14 points, Isaac Fleming had 11 and Quincy Smith contributed 10.
It was tied at 70 after Michael Caffey’s jumper for Long Beach with 4:07 to go. Nevels made a jumper, and then Smith made a pair of layups and Hawaii led by five with 2:48 left.
Long Beach managed just one more free throw the rest of the way, as it missed its last four shots and committed two turnovers and a pair of fouls.
Hawaii shot 57 percent in the first half to build a 47-41 lead at the break.
Caffey led Long Beach State with 27 points and David Samuels had 19.