The University of Hawai'i men’s basketball team opened its season with a 65-48 victory over Southern Utah tonight.

It was the opening night of the 46th annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.
A crowd of 3,737 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors win their season opener for the first time in four seasons.
Roderick Flemings had a double-double — 23 points and 11 rebounds — to lead Hawai‘i.
Dwain Williams, making his debut in a Hawaiçi uniform, added 16 points, although he shot just 4 of 13 from the field.
Petras Balocka added seven points and 11 rebounds, helping Hawai'i to a 40-26 advantage on the boards.
The ’Bows blew a 13-point lead, but put together a strong finish to hold off the Thunderbirds.
Hawaiçi jumped to an 11-2 lead to open the game, and stayed in control for most of the first half.
The ’Bows led by as many as 13 in the first half, before taking a 32-27 lead at intermission. The Thunderbirds closed the first half with a 10-2 surge to make it close.
Flemings had 10 points and six rebounds in the first half.
Dwain Williams, making his debut in a Hawai'i uniform, drained his first two 3-pointers then cooled off. He scored seven in the first half on 2-of-8 shooting.
The Thunderbirds opened the second half with a 9-3 run to take a 36-35 lead with 12:10 remaining. During an 11-minute stretch — the last three minutes of the first half and the first eight minutes of the second — Southern Utah out-scored Hawaiçi 19-5.
The ’Bows shot 0 for 8 from the field to open the second half.
Reserve point guard Jeremy Lay sparked the ’Bows in the second half. He scored four points and had a key steal and assist during a 15-4 run that put Hawai'i back on top 54-42 with 4:48 remaining.
Southern Utah never got closer than eight in the final five minutes.
Hawai'i played without starting forward and senior captain Bill Amis (foot injury) and reserve 7-foot center Douglas Kurtz (NCAA suspension).
The ’Bows will play McNeese State on Sunday at 5:05 p.m.
Northern Colorado 101, McNeese State 73: Will Figures scored 19 points to lead five teammates in double-figures as the Bears routed the Cowboys in last night’s first game.
Chris Kaba added 17 points and nine rebounds, Mike Proctor scored 14, Neal Kingman 13 and Devon Beitzel 10. Northern Colorado shot 57.6 percent from the field, including 57.9 percent (11 of 19) from 3-point range.
Stephan Martin led McNeese State with 23 points.