With a revamped lineup and a renewed tournament format, the University of Hawai'i was able to rebound from a disappointing loss with a resounding victory last night.

The Rainbow Warriors routed George Washington, 73-47, in a consolation game of the 45th Annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.

A crowd of 3,219 at the Stan Sheriff Center got to watch the 'Bows play the consolation game last night — instead of yesterday afternoon — thanks to a rule change this year allowing the home team to play all its games in the evening.

Hawai'i, which improved to 7-4, will play Pepperdine for the consolation championship today at 5 p.m.

"We just came together tonight and guys stepped up and performed like they were capable of performing," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "To a man, they all took the challenge. One of the first times we play for 40 minutes from top to bottom."

Hawai'i's largest margin of victory this season came 48 hours after its largest margin of defeat in a 74-58 loss to Colorado State in the opening round of the Classic.

Last night, Roderick Flemings led Hawai'i with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Petras Balocka added 14 points and four rebounds, and Lasha Parghalava contributed 10 points and four rebounds.

But it was the presence of two new starters — sophomore point guard Hiram Thompson and junior center Paul Campbell — that seemed to ignite the 'Bows.

"(Nash) telling me I was going to start, that got me really pumped up," Campbell said. "I'm going to play hard, regardless. But hearing I'm going to start is a bonus."

Campbell finished with five points — including two crowd-pleasing dunks — and four rebounds. Thompson had six points, three assists and three steals.

"That loss the other day was a heartbreaker," Thompson said. "We knew this game was going to make or break our season ... we went out and sacrificed and played hard."

With Campbell and Thompson starting alongside Flemings, Adhar Mayen and Bill Amis, the 'Bows jumped to a 9-4 lead to open the game and never relented.

Hawai'i took a 31-18 lead at intermission, with Thompson hitting a running bank shot from about 8 feet away just before the halftime buzzer.

In perhaps an indication of the way things were going, Thompson's sister, Jenna Nielson, won $700 during halftime for winning a shooting contest sponsored by Outrigger Hotels.

"I was real excited when I heard about that," Thompson said.

The second half wasn't even close, as the 'Bows shot 55.6 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes to turn it into a rout.

"Hawai'i understood the importance of this game," George Washington head coach Karl Hobbs said. "They understood the situation, they understood the magnitude, and they were mentally and physically prepared to play this game and they overwhelmed us."

The Colonials shot just 30 percent from the field for the game, including 11.1 percent (2 of 18) from 3-point range. They missed their first 14 3-point tries.

The 'Bows frustrated the Colonials by employing a zone defense for practically the entire game.

"I think I have to credit Hawai'i's defense," Hobbs said. "The bottom line is they were playing defense when we took the shots and the shots didn't go in. So you have to give all the credit to Hawai'i's defense."

Hawai'i was also aggressive on offense, which led to a significant advantage in free throws. The 'Bows went 24 of 33 from the line, while the Colonials went 9 of 15.

"They were fouling a lot the whole game," Campbell said. "They were being real physical with us from the get-go, trying to get us out of our game. But we played tough and hung through it."

Flemings went 8 of 13 on free throws, and Balocka was 5 of 6.

"They both became very aggressive offensively and it played into our favor," Nash said. "We were in attack mode."

Campbell started in place of Balocka, mostly because of defensive reasons. Thompson started in place of Kareem Nitoto, who has been battling flu-like symptoms in recent days.

George Washington was assessed 26 fouls to Hawai'i's 17.

"They were the more aggressive basketball team," Hobbs said. "There was no discrepancy in fouls ... they were attacking the basket, therefore we were fouling them."

The 'Bows went on a 12-0 run early in the second half to increase the lead to 45-24 with 12:37 remaining, and the Colonials never got closer than 18 the rest of the way.

Hawai'i led by as many as 29 points after that, allowing Nash to clear the bench. Eleven of the 14 'Bows in uniform scored.

The 'Bows finished the game with a .469 field goal percentage, and out-rebounded the Colonials, 40-35.

It was also the sixth Monday night game Hawai'i has played this season. The 'Bows are 5-1 in those games, including 5-0 in Monday night home games.

George Washington dropped to 6-4. Travis King led the Colonials with 10 points, and was the only player on the team to reach double-digit points.

The Colonials will play Coppin State for seventh place today at 11 a.m.

PEPPERDINE 58, COPPIN STATE 56

Lorne Jackson hit a short jumper with six seconds remaining to lead the Waves over the Eagles in yesterday's other consolation game.

The victory snapped a 12-game losing streak for Pepperdine, which improved to 2-12.

Coppin State, which dropped to 1-10, now has a 10-game losing streak.

Mychel Thompson led Pepperdine with 18 points and Dane Suttle Jr. added 15.

Tywaine McKee led Coppin State with 21 points.