RENO, Nev. — It was like hitting two of the three winning symbols on a Megabucks slot machine, only to see the third one inches away.

And as the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team found out, close doesn't count in a gambling town like this one.

The Rainbow Warriors came agonizingly and controversially close to a historic upset in a 69-68 loss at Nevada yesterday.

"Just heartbreaking," a tearful Hawai'i co-captain Matt Lojeski said. "You think you're up and then you're down. It just kind of sucks to play with our hearts like that. I actually cried in the locker room."

Ahmet Gueye's fall-away shot went through the hoop with 5.8 seconds remaining, giving Hawai'i what appeared to be a 70-69 lead. The initial call by referee Bill Gracey was that the shot was good, and Gueye was fouled in the process by Nick Fazekas.

"He was pulling my jersey down, and that's when I was shooting," Gueye said. "I was going down and I shot the ball. That should count."

But after a lengthy meeting by the referees, and vehement arguing by Nevada head coach Mark Fox, the shot was discounted.

The sellout crowd of 9,791 at the Lawlor Events Center erupted into cheers when the announcement was made that the Wolf Pack still had a 69-68 lead.

"It might have been the right call, it might not have been," Lojeski said. "But I don't know how you can change it like that."

Hawai'i was huddled in front of its bench, preparing for Gueye to shoot a free throw, when the score was reverted to 69-68.

"Unbelievable, basically," Hawai'i forward P.J. Owsley said. "I didn't think they could just take away points like that after counting it."

Hawai'i still retained the final possession of the ball.

But Matt Gibson's jump shot was partially blocked by Nevada's Denis Ikovlev, Gueye missed a rushed putback attempt, and then Owsley's final putback attempt went through the hoop a fraction of a second after the final horn sounded.

Interestingly, at least one second could have been restored on the clock after the controversial call on Gueye, but it wasn't.

The referees declined to comment after the game.

Western Athletic Conference assistant commissioner Steve Macy attended the game, and said in a statement: "One official counted the basket, but he didn't confer with the other two officials. The other two said the basket did not count, so they waved off the shot. It was a judgment call and they wanted to get it right."

With that, Hawai'i dropped to 13-10 overall and 4-6 in the WAC with its second heartbreaking loss to the Wolf Pack (Nevada beat Hawai'i, 68-66 in overtime, on Jan. 13 at the Stan Sheriff Center).

Nevada, which is ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25, improved to 21-2 and 9-1.

It would have been Hawai'i's greatest road upset — the 'Bows' 2004 victory over No. 25 Utah State was the only other one over a nationally ranked opponent on the road. The 'Bows also dropped to 0-10 all-time against the Wolf Pack in games played in Reno.

"I think they're right all the way," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said of the calls. "It's just how it happened that makes it bizarre."

The game was televised nationally on ESPN2, and Wallace said that made a difference in the lengthy meeting by the referees.

"You overturn it because you want to be right — it's a nationally televised game," he said. "If it wasn't a nationally televised game, I guarantee you we win this game right now because you're a little stronger in your call."

Fox said: "Give the officials credit. It takes courage to get it right."

In any case, the 'Bows took the Wolf Pack to the wire with a balanced attack, led by an inspired Gueye.

He matched Fazekas, Nevada's national player of the year candidate. Both players scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Gueye also blocked three shots and shot 10 of 15 from the field to Fazekas' 6 of 12.

"Gueye being able to match Fazekas ... neutralized that situation," Wallace said.

Lojeski added 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, despite suffering from flu-like symptoms. His steal with 35 seconds remaining set up Hawai'i's final attempts to win the game.

Gibson contributed 11 points and seven assists, and Owsley had 10 points and four assists.

The 'Bows trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, but tied it at 59 on a jump shot by Gibson with 7:38 remaining. The game stayed close the rest of the way, even though Hawai'i never took the lead.

The 'Bows shot 46.9 percent from the field to Nevada's 40.7 percent. Hawai'i also out-rebounded the Wolf Pack, 34-33.

Hawai'i also tied its season-high with 26 assists, and committed a season-low nine turnovers.

"Credit Hawai'i's defense, but we didn't execute very well, either," Fox said. "We dodged a bullet."

Marcelus Kemp led the Wolf Pack with 23 points, including 16 in the second half. He scored Nevada's first 14 points of the second half.

"The difference in the game was Kemp," Wallace said.

There was also a difference at the free-throw line. Nevada went 20 of 21, including 9 of 9 by Fazekas. Hawai'i went 2 of 5.

"That is how you win games," Fazekas said.

Nevada led by as many as 10 points in the first half, and took a 40-33 lead at intermission.

"You can't be satisfied because we didn't get the win," Owsley said. "But with this performance, we believe we can play with anybody."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.