Six shooters:Boise state men's basketball keeps streak alive

The 13-point lead was gone, and there was no question that the Boise State men's basketball team's five-game winning streak was in serious jeopardy.

Hawaii had tied the Broncos 47-47 with 2 minutes, 23 seconds left in Saturday night's WAC game in front of a season-high crowd of 4,113 and Boise State's offense had generated only four field goals in the second half.

But 6-foot point guard Anthony Thomas played like the biggest player on the court.

The junior hit a 3-pointer and came up with a steal and a layup to help Boise State seal a 54-49 victory. He was the only Bronco to make a basket in the final 10 minutes and he scored 10 of his team's final 12 points.

"He made the big plays. That was big, obviously," Boise State coach Greg Graham said. "He's an energy guy ... he gets everyone going and fired up."

It was the sixth victory in a row for the Broncos (12-3 overall, 3-0 WAC), their longest positive streak since winning seven in a row late in the 2003-04 season.

"I was just thinking that we needed a little more energy," said Thomas, who had a team-high 13 points. "I just needed to push up the tempo a little bit and try to get us to run because that's the way we play better."

Hawaii (9-7, 1-3) trailed 33-23 at halftime and was down 37-24 early in the second half. But Warriors coach Bob Nash went to a bigger lineup and a zone defense that brought the Broncos' offense to a halt.

The result was only two Boise State field goals in the first 13-plus minutes of the second half.

"They relegate you to shooting on the perimeter, and we didn't shoot the ball very well tonight," said Graham, whose team matched a season low shooting percentage of 34.6 percent.

Hawaii took its only lead of the game when Roderick Flemings (game-high 17 points) hit a 3-pointer to put the Warriors up 44-43 with 6:52 to play.

That was Hawaii's last field goal until Bill Amis scored with less than a second to play. In that stretch, Boise State forced six turnovers, including four in a row in the final 2 minutes.

"We were in a big drought. We were trying to step it up on defense to get stops, and maybe our defense could help our offense," Boise State guard La'Shard Anderson said.

Thomas' layup on a drive and his steal and layup gave the Broncos a 47-44 lead. After Hawaii tied the score 47-47, Thomas made his next round of big plays to keep the Broncos tied with Utah State for first place in the WAC.

Boise State plays at Nevada and Utah State next week.

"Home wins are always big, especially when we're about to go on a tough road trip," Thomas said.

Paul Noonan was the only other Bronco to reach double figures with 10 points. He matched his career-high total with seven rebounds.

Graham credited the contribution of sophomore Zack Moritz, who played the final nine minutes.

"Zack shut down the middle, Graham said. "He did a good job in the paint, got a block and a rebound. He shut down their inside game so our guards can get after them a little bit more."

NOTE: Boise State went 13-of-20 from the free-throw line, while Hawaii went 14-of-23.

Nick Jezierny: 377-6420