In true festive spirit, every Rainbow Warrior in uniform scored at least two in a 97-67 rout of Texas Southern on the opening night of the adidas Festival.

"Everybody was on," said UH forward Julian Sensley. "I can't really explain it. It was like the whole team was in the zone."

As a result, it was the first time since the 1989-90 season that the 'Bows defeated a team by at least 30 points.

"It was just really fun," said reserve forward Jeff Blackett. "Our offense was clicking, everything was flowing."

A crowd of 3,206 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows improve to 4-2.

Although the match-ups were predetermined, UH will play New Orleans tonight at 7 in what amounts to the tournament championship game. Texas Southern (3-5) will play Idaho State at 5 p.m.

Phil Martin led three Hawai'i players in double-figure points with 18. He shot 8 of 10 from the field and also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

"There was no emphasis on what would be open," he said. "We just ran our basic offense and found the open spots."

The 'Bows passed for a season-high 25 assists while committing just eight turnovers. Point guard Logan Lee was the primary gift-giver with eight assists and zero turnovers.

"That's Rainbow basketball," UH head coach Riley Wallace said.

Bobby Nash, a true freshman out of Iolani School, scored a career-high 13 on 5 of 6 shooting. He was one of three UH reserves to establish personal bests last night.

"I don't think he made a shot all week (in practice)," Wallace said. "He had a terrible shooting week, and then he comes in and shoots it well in the game. But that's what counts."

Fellow newcomers Blackett and Jake Sottos also had career-highs with nine and eight points, respectively.

The 'Bows jumped to the big lead early behind their big men.

Haim Shimonovich, a 6-foot-10 center, and Martin, a 6-8 power forward, combined for 14 points during UH's 18-7 surge to open the game.

In a 15-second span, Shimonovich got in front of a fast break and slam-dunked an assist from Kuebler, then stole a pass and beat TSU's Sean Walker one-on-one down court for a layup.

"I think he got everybody energized early," Wallace said. "We follow him."

Martin added: "You saw Haim do some different things and it trickled to other guys. I felt like I wanted to get into it, too, after watching him."

Shimonovich finished with nine points, six rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and two steals in 19 minutes. Sensley added 10 points, including 2 of 2 shooting from 3-point range.

Late in the first half, the UH reserves started contributing. Nash, Sottos and Milos Zivanovic combined to score 10 during a 12-0 run that increased the lead to 48-27. The 'Bows took a 51-33 lead at intermission, and it never got closer than that in the second half.

The Tigers, who do not have a player taller than 6-8 among the 10 in their regular rotation, committed 22 turnovers.

Wallace said UH's size advantage contributed to the offense's success.

"We were able to throw over them," he said. "And we hit shots."

The only TSU player able to hit shots was Damien Smith, who finished with 27 points, including 6 of 6 shooting from 3-point range.

• New Orleans 86, Idaho State 72: Johnell Smith scored 27 points to lead the Privateers (4-2) over the Bengals (3-6) in yesterday's first game.

Victor Brown made all seven of his shots and added 18 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans.

Scott Henry and Jeff Gardner led Idaho State with 19 and 18 points, respectively.