A "White-Out" crowd of 5,787 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors remain undefeated this season at 5-0, their best start since the 1997-98 season. The Gaels dropped to 6-4.

"That's what I like about this team over past teams that I've had — they're pretty unselfish," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "The stat we like to look at is 21 assists to their six. It's fun to coach when they do that."

Forwards Julian Sensley and Jeff Blackett led the 'Bows with 23 and 18 points, respectively. Sensley scored 15 in the first half, and Blackett had 15 in the second half.

They also contributed four assists each as the 'Bows passed for a season-high 21 assists. Hawai'i also shot a season-high 62.5 percent from the field.

"I'm just playing real aggressive offensively," said Sensley, who shot 10 of 15 from the field. "I've been trying to do that the last couple games. I took only two jumpers, so everything was close to the basket."

Almost every shot Hawai'i made last night was close to the basket. The 'Bows did not make a 3-pointer last night, mostly because Saint Mary's played an aggressive man-to-man defense.

"We didn't defend them," Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett said. "They just cut through us. You give your team no chance to win on the road when you let a team shoot like that."

Saint Mary's Paul Marigney, left, battles Hawai'i's Deonte Tatum for a loose ball in the first half. Hawai'i defeated Saint Mary's, 84-77.

"It was important for us to execute to make the game easier for ourselves," UH point guard Deonte Tatum said. "We did a good job of screening for each other, getting each other open looks."

Because of injuries to other players in the week leading up to last night's game, Tatum got extra repetitions in practice. He started last night's game after playing a reserve role in the previous two games, and wound up with his best game of the season with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, along with three assists and four rebounds.

"It was a week we had guys hurt, guys with infections; we had a discipline problem we took care of, and it all ended up helping us in a sense," Wallace said.

"Little Matt" Gibson, who was suspended for one day of practice for disciplinary reasons, came off the bench last night to record 13 points. He made all four of his field goals and was 5 of 6 on free throws.

Bobby Nash added 10 points, all in the first half, before leaving with a leg injury.

But it was Sensley who got the 'Bows going, scoring 15 in the first half on 7 of 9 shooting. Among his highlights were an alley-oop dunk over 6-10 Saint Mary's forward Daniel Kickert, and then a spectacular spinning drive through the lane for a layup.

"We were planning on denying and they countered with back doors and things like that we weren't prepared for," Kickert said. "Our team defense didn't cover it. They just broke us down."

Saint Mary's took a 27-24 lead on a driving layup by Paul Marigney with 6:40 remaining in the first half.

But Hawai'i closed the half with a 14-2 run to take a 38-29 advantage at intermission. Nash scored six during the surge.

The Gaels did not make a field goal in the final 6:40 of the half, and their only two points came on free throws.

Nash and Tatum — UH's starting guards last night — left the game early in the second half with leg injuries. Tatum eventually returned and Nash did not, but the 'Bows never lost momentum.

Blackett scored UH's first two baskets of the second half to increase the lead to 42-31. The 'Bows led by as many as 15, although the Gaels got as close as five in the final minute with a late surge.

Blackett shot 7 of 10 from the field in the second half and scored 15 after intermission. He also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to lead Hawai'i to a 34-33 advantage on the boards.

However, Blackett left the game with 4:49 remaining and was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a knee to his head from Saint Mary's forward Jonathan Sanders.

Kickert led the Gaels with 22 points on 9 of 15 shooting.

Hawai'i will not play again until the opening night of the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic on Dec. 20.