The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team made up for its bust in Las Vegas last month the same way everybody else does — it worked for it.

Julian Sensley and the Rainbow Warriors avenged a loss at UNLV with a 78-72 victory over the Runnin' Rebels last night.

A "Green & White" crowd of 6,867 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows improve to 3-1, with all three victories at home.

The Rebels dropped to 2-4. Since beating Hawai'i, 67-61, on Nov. 22, UNLV has lost four in a row.

"We needed to win a game like that where we had to grind it out against a team that plays tough defense," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "It's a good win for us because (UNLV) is going to be a good team. They got us by six there and we got them by six here."

Sensley epitomized the redemption, scoring a career-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

In the loss at UNLV, Sensley was held scoreless for the only time in his career on 0-of-11 shooting.

"I took it kind of personal because I've never not scored a bucket in my basketball career," said Sensley, a 6-foot-9 senior forward. "I just came ready to play. Not that I didn't come ready to play in Vegas. There's really no excuse for my poor performance in Vegas."

Matt Lojeski added 15 points, Ahmet Gueye had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Deonte Tatum matched his career high with nine points for the 'Bows.

"They kind of bullied us the last time we were up there," Sensley said. "We took it upon ourselves to be the big players out there and control everything."

The 'Bows controlled the lead from the start to finish, although the Rebels made it close at the end.

The 'Bows opened the game with a 10-3 lead and never lost it the rest of the way. Sensley scored his first basket less than three minutes into the game, and had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first half.

"Julian had a sensational night," Wallace said. "When he came home from Vegas, he assured me that's not going to happen again. He hit his first shot and he was off and running."

UNLV head coach Lon Kruger said of Sensley: "That's more the norm than what we saw, or the job we did, in Vegas."

But Sensley's points were not the only difference from the loss at Las Vegas.

The 'Bows went 1 for 17 from 3-point range and 6 of 18 on free throws at UNLV. Last night, they were 4 of 12 from 3-point range, and 24 of 32 on free throws.

"Just being back at home helps us a lot," Lojeski said. "We still could have played better, but we'll take this win, especially since they got us at their place."

Hawai'i increased the lead to 32-21 with 4:46 remaining in the half, and eventually took a 36-31 advantage at intermission.

UNLV got as close as 39-36 early in the second half, but the 'Bows pulled away again with Sensley leading the way.

He played a role in all the points during a 12-4 surge that gave Hawai'i a 55-42 lead with 12:07 remaining. He scored 10 points — including two 3-pointers and an emphatic one-handed dunk — and assisted on the other basket during the run.

"That's what we expect because we know how good he is," said Tatum, who is a co-captain with Sensley. "When he plays at that level, that makes us a top-notch team."

The Rebels got as close as six several times in the closing minutes, but the 'Bows sealed it by sinking 10 of 11 free throws in the final 2:44.

"We won the ball game, there's no question," Wallace said. "But we did not play good winning defense down the stretch."

The 'Bows committed 20 turnovers against UNLV's pressure defense, but managed to shoot 51 percent from the field.

Louis Amundson and Jason Petrimoulx led the Rebels with 17 points each. Amundson added 12 rebounds, giving him 39 points and 33 rebounds in the two games against Hawai'i.

The 'Bows will return to the road this weekend. They depart tomorrow for a game at Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday.

It was UNLV's third game of a four-game road swing. The Rebels will play at Minnesota on Saturday.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.