RENO, Nev. » With 4:49 to go and holding a seven-point lead, Hawaii was on the verge of ending its 14-game losing streak in Reno.

Then a not-so-funny thing happened. The UH offense disappeared, scoring just four points the rest of the way and falling 77-74 to Nevada on Saturday night before a crowd of 5,452 at Lawlor Events Center.

The loss dropped Hawaii to 2-1 in Western Athletic Conference play, 10-7 overall.

This one went down to the wire, and ended when Zane Johnson’s potential game-tying 3-pointer with 3 seconds left failed to draw iron.

"I thought the guys played as hard and good basketball as they have played this season," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "They played 36 minutes of good basketball."

And so the drought continues.

"We don’t look at what’s happened in the past," said UH point guard Miah Ostrowski, who dished out nine assists. "It doesn’t affect us when we come out and play. Every year is a different year with different players.

"They’re a great team. They’re going to make some plays and we’re going to make some plays. They hit some big shots."

After a three-point play by Vander Joaquim (22 points, 7 rebounds, 7 blocks) gave Hawaii a 70-63 lead, Nevada turned the ball over. At the other end, Johnson misfired and then UH, after getting the offensive rebound, turned the ball over.

"We were up seven with the ball twice. We were close to putting it away. We just couldn’t finish," Arnold said.

After Malik Story bombed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 70-66, UH turned the ball over again as Olek Czyz knocked the ball off the leg of a UH player.

That set the stage for Deonte Burton, who scored seven straight points in the next 71 seconds to complete Nevada’s 10-0 run. Burton, who only took three shots in the first half, scored 20 of his 25 points in the second.

"He (Burton) didn’t do anything different; just decided to shoot it," Ostrowski said. "He got some off-the-ball screens and threw down some shots."

"Burton is such a great player, and great players take over games, which is what he did tonight," Arnold said.

Hawaii cut the lead to 73-71 on a free throw by Joaquim with 1:57 left.

The Rainbows went 0-for-2 on their next possession as Johnson (11 points) missed a 3-pointer and Ostrowski had a shot blocked by Jerry Evans Jr.

Burton drained a jump shot to make it 75-71 with 38 seconds left, and 8 seconds later, Johnson buried a 3-pointer to make it 75-74.

Hawaii almost stole the ball twice on the ensuing possession, but couldn’t keep it in play. The Rainbows were forced to foul, and Story drained two free throws to make it 77-74 with 11 seconds left.

Johnson had a chance to tie the game, but was closely guarded and his 3-pointer didn’t even draw iron.

While it was Burton who killed Hawaii in the second half, Czyz (24 points) did some serious damage in the opening 20 minutes. A year ago, Czyz had 19 first-half points against UH.

"He had a big first half against us last year," Arnold said. "We have to stay down (defensively) on his pump fake. He likes to raise and then drive. We did a good job on him in the second half."

Despite Czyz’s outburst, Hawaii only trailed 35-34 at the intermission as Joston Thomas scored 11 of his 21 and Joaquim had 10 of his 22. The game was tied three times in the first half and there were 10 lead changes.

"They killed us on the boards in the first half," Thomas said. "That’s Nevada basketball, getting second-chance points. I thought we did a better job in the second half.

"I was able to find some openings in the first half (and make some shots)."

Hawaii opened the second half with a 12-6 run to take a 46-41 lead with 16:25 left. Hawaii never trailed until Nevada’s aforementioned 10-0 run to take the three-point lead with 2:06 left.

Notes

Joaquim’s seven blocked shots were one off the school record and he also recorded his sixth double-double this season. … UH is 83-10 when shooting 50 percent from the floor. It’s the first time UH has lost this year when shooting 50 percent or better. … UH returns home for a two-game homestand — Thursday vs. Louisiana Tech and Saturday against New Mexico State. … Ostrowski has 68 assists and just 21 turnovers.