Resilience and rebounding led the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team to a resounding 81-62 victory over Northwestern State last night.

Playing without two key starters, the Rainbow Warriors had their best rebounding game of the season to rebound from a two-game losing streak.

A crowd of 2,579 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows complete their pre-conference schedule with a 7-6 record.

"Tonight's game was truly a team effort," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said.

Most notable, the 'Bows grabbed a season-high 53 rebounds to Northwestern State's 38.

"I think we just wanted it more than them, really," Hawai'i center Paul Campbell said. "Hustle plays."

Making it more impressive, the 'Bows played without leading scorer Roderick Flemings and point guard Hiram Thompson.

Flemings sat out his second consecutive game with a bruised knee; Thompson did not play because of a concussion.

"Under the circumstances of not having Rod or Hiram on the floor, I asked some guys to step up and be leaders out there," Nash said. "And I got that kind of leadership from Paul Campbell."

Campbell had his best game in three seasons as a 'Bow with career-highs of 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Nash said Campbell also did "more things that go unnoticed" such as providing defensive backup for his teammates, and setting solid screens on offense.

"I know Rod and Hiram do a lot for the team," said Campbell, a 6-foot-10 senior. "They're two of the main parts of our offense ... I felt like I had to step up."

He wasn't the only one. Among the other standouts:

• Junior guard Dwain Williams remained on a holiday roll, scoring a game-high 28 points, including 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.

He has 64 points in his last two games, and 84 in his last three. The last Hawai'i player with three consecutive 20-point games was Matt Lojeski in 2007.

"I'm scoring a lot right now, but that's not really the deciding factor in me playing well," he said. "I think it's just I'm finding my rhythm out there. I'm learning the offense better."

• Jeremy Lay, starting in place of Thompson, scored 15 points.

Lay shot just 2 of 11 from the field, but his two baskets were crucial 3-pointers that helped the 'Bows pull away from the Demons midway through the second half.

He also went 9 of 10 on free throws, and Hawai'i went 32 of 44 as a team.

• Brandon Adams had his best all-around game as a 'Bow with 12 points and a career-high eight rebounds.

• Petras Balocka scored just seven points, but grabbed 11 rebounds for his sixth double-digit rebounding game of the season.

The 'Bows recycled 27 offensive rebounds into 28 second-chance points.

"They just killed us on the boards," Northwestern State head coach Mike McConathy said. "They were more aggressive than we were. We'd get our hands on the ball, but couldn't pull it down."

Ultimately, the rebounding would prove vital because the 'Bows were otherwise unspectacular.

Hawai'i shot just 35.6 percent from the field, including 31.8 percent from 3-point range. The 'Bows also committed 17 turnovers while passing for just 11 assists.

But the Demons were worse, shooting 34.4 percent from the field, including 18.2 percent from 3-point range. Northwestern State also had 15 turnovers and just two assists.

"Offensively, we couldn't get anything generated," McConathy said.

Without Flemings and Thompson in the lineup, the 'Bows struggled early in the game.

In the first half, the 'Bows shot just 29 percent from the field, and committed 11 turnovers. Yet, they somehow managed to take a 29-23 lead at intermission.

"We just didn't do a good job taking care of the ball in the first half," Nash said. "In the second half, we settled down and we ran better offense and got better shots."

The Demons got as close as 41-40 with 12:47 to play, but the 'Bows never lost the lead in the second half.

The 'Bows used a 10-2 surge to increase their lead to 56-45 with 8:05 remaining. The Demons never got closer than 10 points after that.

"We didn't shoot the ball well, they didn't shoot the ball well," McConathy said. "But they got some energy going in the second half and did some good things and we didn't."

Charles Clark led the Demons(5-6) with 12 points. Northwestern State used a platoon system throughout the game, and no player received more than 24 minutes.

In contrast, each of Hawai'i's five starters logged more than 25 minutes.

The 'Bows will open their Western Athletic Conference season against Idaho on Saturday at the Sheriff Center.

"It was real important," Williams said of last night's win. "First of all, we didn't want to lose to a team like that. Second of all, we gotta have our rhythm going into conference play."

Nash said he expects both Flemings and Thompson to return to action Saturday.