In lieu of flowers, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team greeted new visitor Utah State with a lei of defense yesterday.

The Rainbow Warriors relied on a suffocating defense in a 69-59 victory over the Aggies yesterday afternoon.

A crowd of 5,103 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams. The 'Bows improved to 4-2 overall, with all four wins at home.

"You got the leading field-goal percentage team in the country and we didn't give them any good looks in the second half," Hawai'i coach Riley Wallace said. "I thought the defense, where we made them shoot their lowest percentage of the year, was the key to our win."

It was the first WAC game for Utah State, which was in the Big West for the previous 27 seasons. The Aggies dropped to 4-3 overall.

"Welcome to the WAC Utah State, thank you very much," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said. "We're up to our rear ends in this basketball league."

The Aggies shot a season-low 35.7 percent from the field, including just 21.9 percent in the decisive second half. They entered the game ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division I with a 54.8 field-goal percentage.

The 'Bows trailed by three at halftime, but out-scored the Aggies 37-24 in the second half.

Junior shooting guard Matt Lojeski, playing with a sprained left shoulder, scored a game-high 20 points to lead Hawai'i. He was 8 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

"That young man is a tough kid because it hurts and he was able to shrug it off and play," Wallace said.

Senior forward Julian Sensley added 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Twelve of his points and all of his rebounds came in the second half.

Junior forward Ahmet Gueye contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots.

"We really had to play good defense to beat these guys because they're a great shooting team," Gueye said.

Lojeski and Gueye were recruited by Utah State, and both played key roles in the defensive effort.

Lojeski defended Utah State's leading scorer, Jaycee Carroll, for most of the game. Carroll was averaging 20.0 points per game prior to yesterday.

Carroll finished with a team-high 15 points, but shot 5 of 14 from the field. Five of his points came in the closing seconds against the Hawai'i reserves.

"Lojeski played the heck out of (Carroll) in the second half," Wallace said.

Gueye made a defensive switch in the second half, guarding Utah State forward Nate Harris. In the first half, Gueye defended center Cass Matheus.

Harris finished with 12 points, but was 2 of 9 from the field. He scored ju st five in the second half on 1-of-7 shooting.

"Ahmet plays about four inches taller than he is because he's got such good timing and long arms," Morrill said of the 6-foot-7 Gueye.

Prior to yesterday's game, Harris was shooting 60 percent from the field.

"I told the coaches that I wanted to play defense on No. 4 (Harris)," Gueye said. "I wanted that challenge."

In the first half, Utah State shot 54.2 percent from the field. A five-point play at the end of the first half gave the Aggies a 35-32 lead at intermission.

On the play, Hawai'i's Milos Zivanovic was assessed a foul for crashing into a screen set by Harris. Carroll's 3-pointer from behind the screen counted, and Harris proceeded to make both free throws.

The play served as a lesson for the 'Bows at halftime.

"We were kind of playing their game in the first half," Sensley said. "We knew we had to communicate and help each other out on defense in the second half because they try to set so many picks for each other."

The 'Bows broke open a close game with an 11-2 run that turned a 47-46 deficit into a 57-49 lead with 6:13 remaining.

"Big Matt" Gipson scored all five of his points during the surge. He also contributed seven rebounds for the game.

The Aggies never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

"Their size is a factor; they're big and long," Morrill said of Hawai'i. "But we got real stupid and stubborn, too. We kept driving in and drawing three or four guys instead of kicking it out."

Utah State's 35.7 field goal percentage was its lowest total in 24 games. The 69 points scored by Hawai'i was also the most allowed by the Aggies this season.

"We just had a heck of a time scoring and we couldn't get them stopped," Morrill said. "You look at the percentages, and it's almost unbelievable that we only lost by 10."

Utah State went 7 for 32 from the field in the second half, while Hawai'i went 15 for 26 (57.7 percent).

The 'Bows were playing for the first time since a 58-52 loss at Wisconsin-Milwaukee last Saturday.

"I just wish that these people would all buy tickets for the next road trip," Wallace said. "And maybe go with us so we can win a game on the road."

Yesterday's game was the first of a seven-game homestand for Hawai'i. The 'Bows will next host the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.

Hawai'i will play Loyola Marymount on the opening night of the eight-team tournament on Tuesday.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.