Hawaii Upsets Pitt, 84-82, to Win the Rainbow Classic

Troy Bowe’s free throw with 1:28 to play snapped an 82-82 tie as Hawaii stunned No. 11 Pittsburgh, 84-82, Sunday to win the Rainbow Classic for the first time in 17 years.

Bowe hit another free throw with six seconds left to close out the scoring. Pittsburgh’s Brian Shorter tried to get off a 15-foot jumper as time expired, but Tim Shepherd stripped the ball from him.

Ray Reed scored 24 of his 35 points in the second half to lead Hawaii (8-3).

It’s the first Rainbow Classic title for Hawaii since they beat Purdue in 1973.

Asked if the win was his biggest since taking over as Hawaii coach in 1987, Riley Wallace responded: “How about life? Beating Pitt, ranked 11th in the country, nothing compares to this.”

Pitt Coach Paul Evans was angry with the officials, who called 27 fouls on his team.

Evans, however, admitted that Reed and his team’s 17 turnovers played more a factor in the outcome than the officiating did.

“Reed was tough to stop, and when we did they got the offensive rebounds,” Evans said. “Turnovers also hurt us. It will be interesting to see how we react after this loss.”

Reed scored seven points during a 9-0 Hawaii run that erased a 54-49 Pittsburgh lead.