Last week started with Matt Gibson on the bench for disciplinary reasons.

By the end of the week, he was the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week.

Gibson, a 6-foot-5 junior point guard for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team, averaged 16.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in three games last week.

Gibson said he thought his teammates were playing a practical joke on him when they told him of the award yesterday morning.

"I was on my way to class and Riley (Luettgerodt) said I was the WAC Player of the Week," Gibson said. "I thought he was messing with me, so I went to check myself on the computer and I saw it."

Gibson is the second Hawai'i player to receive the award this season. Matt Lojeski got one in December.

"I'm not into individual awards," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "But we're playing a lot better lately and (Gibson) is one of the reasons. He's looking to score more and he's improved defensively."

Last Monday, Gibson had to play a reserve role against Utah State because he missed practice two days before the game. He responded by scoring a season-high 20 points in a home victory over Utah State.

Last Thursday, he regained his starting role and scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in a road victory at Fresno State. Last Saturday, he had 11 points and seven assists in a road loss at Nevada.

Gibson is averaging 10.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season. He also leads the team with 33 3-pointers and 36 steals.

He said his recent surge has coincided with after-practice sessions with associate coach Bob Nash.

"I've been taking extra shots in the gym with Coach Nash, and lifting weights," Gibson said. "I've always believed that if you work hard and play hard, good things will happen."

Still, Gibson said he would trade the award for something else — a road victory at Nevada.

"This is a nice title to have for a week, but it doesn't mean nearly as much as that game," he said. "On paper, it says (Nevada) won the game, but everybody who watched that game knows we should have won it."

WAC ISSUES STATEMENT; WALLACE TAKES ISSUE

Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said he is not satisfied with the way the WAC is handling the aftermath of last Saturday's controversial 69-68 loss at Nevada.

In particular, Wallace said he does not agree with several points in a statement released by the WAC yesterday.

WAC commissioner Karl Benson is quoted as saying: "While I am satisfied the officials 'got it right' I am disappointed that there wasn't better communication between them immediately following the play."

Wallace said the referees didn't get it right.

"They're trying to protect (the referees) and I don't appreciate that," Wallace said. "The commissioner being disappointed doesn't get it done with me. There should at least be a reprimand and an apology to the University of Hawai'i.

"I don't think (the referees) should be suspended or anything like that. They're human, they work hard and they're honest, and I respect what they do. But if you make a mistake that winds up costing a game, you need to take responsibility for it."

Here is the WAC's version of the controversial foul call:

"With approximately 7.5 seconds left in the game, official Brian Sorenson called Nevada player Nick Fazekas for a foul against Hawai'i player Ahmet Gueye. And approximately two seconds later at the 5.8 mark, official Bill Gracey called Fazekas for a foul against Gueye. Gracey ruled the foul occurred while Gueye was shooting and Hawai'i was given two points on the play.

"As the officials then discussed the situation, Sorenson informed Gracey that he called the foul prior to the foul called by Gracey — and that Gueye was not in the act of shooting. The third official — Kelly Self — confirmed that the foul called by Sorenson occurred prior to the foul called by Gracey and that Gueye was not in the act of shooting. The basket was then waved off and Hawai'i's score reduced by two points."

Wallace pointed out that the foul calls by Sorenson and Gracey were more like two-tenths of a second apart rather than two full seconds.

He also pointed out that the officials met twice to discuss the call. After the first huddle, Gueye was awarded the basket.

"If they were so sure of the call, why didn't they change it that first time?" Wallace said.

Wallace added that the game clock was never restored to 7.5 seconds, and stayed at 5.8.

"Again, if they were so sure of what happened, why didn't they reset the clock?" he said. "It shouldn't be up to a coach to request it if they were sure of it."

Nevada coach Mark Fox vehemently argued the original call to count Gueye's basket, and television replays show him using expletives while yelling at the referees. That led to a second discussion by the referees, and the decision to discount Gueye's basket.

Wallace said he was disappointed in himself for not responding like Fox.

"How (Fox) reacted, throwing his jacket, screaming at the officials, swearing — I've done exactly that before, so I'm not saying what he did was wrong," Wallace said. "But for some strange reason, I elected to sit back and let the officials work it out, and that's not my style. I didn't use my style to get the call changed and (Fox) did."

At the time, Wallace said he figured that if the referees took that long to reverse a decision, they must have taken the time to get it correct.

"And now you find out they weren't right, and that's a sick feeling," he said.

Another potential winning basket by P.J. Owsley was disallowed because it apparently came after time expired. But the ESPN2 broadcast showed that the red light on the backboard went on before the clock expired, so the shot could have counted.

However, Benson said the clock on the ESPN2 screen was not the official clock. "We have yet to see a video that would show the (official) clock which is above the backboard," he said.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.