The University of Houston men's basketball team was held nearly 20 points below its scoring average, but still came away with one of its most impressive victories of the season last night.

The Cougars defeated Charlotte, 68-46, in the first round of the 43rd annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Houston will play Creighton in a semifinal game today at 5 p.m. Charlotte will play Valparaiso in a consolation game at 1:30 p.m.

Creighton beat Valparaiso, 68-43, in last night's second game.

Houston entered the Rainbow Classic with a reputation for offense, but it was defense that was mainly responsible for the victory.

"I thought we did a fantastic job of containing (Charlotte's) guards and challenging every shot," Houston head coach Tom Penders said. "I think we gave them maybe three open looks all night."

Dion Dowell, playing only his second game in a Houston uniform, had game-highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds. Dowell, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, transferred from Texas last year, and became eligible last week.

"I feel like I play in the best offensive system in the country — we're allowed to freelance and play our game," Dowell said. "But the main thing tonight was we showed everybody we can play defense, too."

The Cougars entered last night's game ranked fifth among NCAA Division I teams in scoring with 87.4 points per game.

The 49ers entered the game averaging 69.6 points per game, and the 48 points was their season-low.

Both teams relied on long-range shooting last night, combining to attempt 72 3-pointers.

Houston went 12 of 35 from 3-point range, with Dowell going 6 of 12 on his long-range shots.

Charlotte was a dismal 6 of 37 from 3-point range (16.2 percent). The 49ers made just 23 percent of their overall field goals (14 of 61).

"(Houston) is a high scoring team and we felt like if we could get the game in the 60s, that would be good for us," Charlotte head coach Bobby Lutz said. "But obviously, we needed to be in the 60s or 70s as well."

Houston (5-3) closed the first half with a 16-5 run to take a 31-20 lead at intermission. The 49ers went 6 of 31 from the field (19.4 percent) in the first half.

Charlotte (3-6) never got on target in the second half, and thus could not get closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Three other Houston players scored in double-figures: Robert Lee had 17, Robert McKiver 13, and Oliver Lafayette 11.

E.J. Drayton led the 49ers with 11 points, and De'Angelo Alexander added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

CHARLOTTE 20 26 — 46

HOUSTON 31 37 — 68

CHARLOTTE (3-6)

Drayton 4-11 2-6 11, Co.Williams 1-5 1-2 3, Goldwire 2-10 2-2 6, Alexander 2-10 5-6 10, Ca.Williams 0-5 0-0 0, Coleman 1-3 2-2 4, Booker 1-6 0-0 3, Lewis 0-1 0-0 0, Andersen 2-7 0-0 6, Phaler 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 14-61 12-18 46.

HOUSTON (5-3)

Dowell 8-17 0-2 22, Young 0-0 0-0 0, McKiver 3-14 5-6 13, Lafayette 3-9 3-5 11, Smith 0-4 2-2 2, Lee 7-10 1-2 17, Malone 0-0 0-0 0, Thorpe 1-3 0-2 2, Toney 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 22-58 12-21 68.

3-Point Goals—Charlotte 6-37 (Andersen 2-7, Phaler 1-3, Drayton 1-4, Booker 1-5, Alexander 1-7, Co.Williams 0-1, Ca.Williams 0-3, Goldwire 0-7), Houston 12-35 (Dowell 6-12, Lee 2-2, Lafayette 2-6, McKiver 2-12, Smith 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Charlotte 41 (Alexander, Coleman 10), Houston 49 (Dowell 16). Assists—Charlotte 6 (Goldwire, Ca.Williams 3), Houston 7 (McKiver 3). Total Fouls—Charlotte 18, Houston 16.

Creighton 68, Valparaiso 43: The Bluejays got Funk-y in the second half to defeat the Crusaders in last night's late game.

A crowd of 1,360 at the Stan Sheriff Center, including around 200 Creighton fans, watched the Bluejays (5-3) hand Valparaiso (3-7) its seventh consecutive loss.

Nate Funk scored 20 of his game-high 22 points in the second half to lead the Bluejays. He shot 8 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. One of his 3-pointers came from about 30 feet away as the 35-second shot clock expired.

"They did a very good job on Nate (in the first half)," Creighton head coach Dana Altman said. "They really worked him hard. Then in the second half, we got him open a little bit and he hit some shots."

Funk, a 6-3 guard, also grabbed six rebounds. Teammate Anthony Tolliver added 11 points and six rebounds.

The Bluejays also relied on a full-court pressure defense to force 19 Valparaiso turnovers.

"The turnovers that we caused really made a big difference in the game," Altman said. "Hopefully our defense will stay active."

The Crusaders shot just 37.8 percent from the field, including 31.6 percent from 3-point range.

The Bluejays took a 27-20 lead at halftime thanks in part to an 8-0 advantage on free throws.

Valpo was assessed 14 fouls in the first half, leading to Creighton's 8-of-12 shooting from the free throw line. The Bluejays were called for five fouls, and Valparaiso did not attempt a free throw in the first half.

Creighton broke away early in the second half with a 13-2 run that increased the lead to 40-22 with 15:40 remaining. The Crusaders never got closer than 15 the rest of the way.

CREIGHTON 27 41 — 68

VALPARAISO 20 23 — 43

VALPARAISO (3-7)

Igbavboa 2-3 0-0 4, Huff 3-8 0-0 8, Mbaye 3-6 0-0 6, McPherson 2-5 0-0 5, Diebler 0-3 3-4 3, Bennett 0-0 0-0 0, MacLeod 3-4 0-0 7, Haanpaa 2-5 0-0 5, Loyd 2-9 0-0 5, Skoglund 0-1 0-0 0, Frye 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-45 3-4 43.

CREIGHTON (5-3)

Watts 3-7 1-2 7, Tolliver 3-4 5-8 11, Miles 1-4 0-0 3, Funk 8-11 2-2 22, Dotzler 2-7 0-0 4, Porter 4-9 0-0 8, Hibma 1-2 0-0 2, Morrison 0-0 0-0 0, Gakou 0-0 2-2 2, Nengsu 0-1 0-0 0, Bahe 3-5 1-1 9. Totals 25-50 11-15 68.

3-Point Goals—Valparaiso 6-19 (Huff 2-4, MacLeod 1-1, McPherson 1-2, Haanpaa 1-4, Loyd 1-5, Frye 0-1, Diebler 0-2), Creighton 7-20 (Funk 4-5, Bahe 2-3, Miles 1-4, Porter 0-2, Watts 0-3, Dotzler 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Valparaiso 26 (Haanpaa, Igbavboa, McPherson 4), Creighton 26 (Funk, Tolliver 6). Assists—Valparaiso 9 (Loyd 3), Creighton 14 (Miles, Porter 3). Total Fouls—Valparaiso 16, Creighton 10. A—1,360

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.