Cue the music. The University of Hawai’i basketball team is headed to the Big Dance for the first time in 14 years.
Fitting for a team that relied on its defense all season, it came down to a defensive stop to win it.
Long Beach State’s Justin Bibbins missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds, allowing the Warriors to take a 64-60 victory in a thrilling championship game of the Big West Conference Tournament at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Roderick Bobbitt sealed the win with two free throws with 1.7 seconds remaining.
With the win, the Warriors improved to 27-5 and took the Big West’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which starts next week.