The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team got the daylight scared out of it last night.

The Rainbow Warriors edged Loyola Marymount, 66-63, on the opening night of the 42nd annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.

As a result of the victory, Hawai'i advanced to the semifinals of the tournament for the 10th consecutive year. The 'Bows will play Colorado State in tomorrow's second semifinal game at 7:30 p.m.

A loss would have sent the 'Bows to the lonely afternoon consolation bracket.

"I'll admit it, I was getting nervous there at the end," Hawai'i senior forward "Big Matt" Gipson said. "But we stayed with it and never gave up."

A crowd of 5,019 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows improve to 5-2, with all five victories at home. The Lions dropped to 3-7.

Ahmet Gueye, Matt Lojeski and Julian Sensley each scored 14 points to lead the 'Bows. Gueye also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, and Gipson had 11.

Twelve of Sensley's points and 11 of Gueye's came in the second half, when the 'Bows rallied from a nine-point deficit.

"Once we got to the second half, we fired up a little bit and got a little bit more physical ourselves," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "If we make our free throws, we don't have to worry about it down the stretch."

Sensley's double-pump shot with 4:06 remaining gave the 'Bows the lead for good at 59-58.

But missed free throws by Hawai'i and relentless pressure from the Lions kept it close until the end.

"I'm not into moral victories, that's for sure," LMU head coach Rodney Tention said. "This is one that we probably could have snuck out with."

The 'Bows went 5 for 13 from the free-throw line in the final 3:17. True freshman Dominic Waters came off the bench in the final minute and made two free throws to give Hawai'i a 66-63 lead with 11.8 seconds remaining.

A 3-point shot by Loyola Marymount's Brandon Worthy was blocked by Hawai'i's Chris Botez just before the final horn sounded.

"We practice free throws every day; it's just a mental thing," Sensley said. "We have to be mentally ready when it comes down to crunch time."

Gueye went 4 of 10 from the free-throw line, but also came up with two key plays in the closing minutes.

After Botez missed a free throw, Gueye grabbed the rebound, banked in a shot and got fouled. He made the free throw to give Hawai'i a 62-58 lead.

Moments later, he blocked a potential tying shot by Matthew Knight with 1:49 remaining.

"I was in a good position a couple of time," Gueye said. "But I'm not satisfied with this. I don't feel like I played a good game and we made this game closer than it should have been."

Hawai'i opened the game with an 8-2 lead, but the Lions tied it at 12. LMU then went on an 11-2 run to take a 26-17 lead with 4:32 remaining in the first half.

Hawai'i played the final eight minutes of the first half without point guard Deonte Tatum, who picked up two early fouls. Waters played point guard for the final five minutes of the first half and helped the 'Bows cut the deficit to 33-28 at intermission.

"They just took it to us," Wallace said of the Lions. "I don't see how they're 3-6 the way they played tonight. They played like they were 6-3."

LMU scored the first four points of the second half to build its lead back to nine.

The 'Bows finally caught the Lions when Lojeski made two free throws to give Hawai'i a 51-50 lead with 7:48 remaining. The game stayed close the rest of the way, with neither team leading by more than four.

Tention was visibly upset moments after the game, but did not want to comment on the officiating.

"Twenty-eight to 15; figure it out for yourself," he said. "That's the foul count."

Knight led the Lions with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Worthy added 17 points. LMU will play Western Michigan in a consolation game tomorrow at 11 a.m.

The Rainbow Classic will continue today with two more first-round games. Northwestern State will play Oregon State at 5 p.m., followed by Iowa State and South Florida at 7:30.

COLORADO STATE 87, WESTERN MICHIGAN 69

Michael Harrison scored a career-high 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting to lead Colorado State past Western Michigan in yesterday's opening game of the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.

Colorado State (8-1) led from start to finish. Freshman guard Stephan Gilling hit five 3-pointers in the first half to help the Rams build a 41-33 lead at intermission. Gilling hit one more 3-pointer in the second half, and also had his career-best game with 18 points.

Harrison, a 6-9 junior forward, took over in the second half with 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting.

"They're starters, so we have a lot of confidence in both of them," Colorado State head coach Dale Layer said of Gilling and Harrison.

Western Michigan (2-5) never threatened in the second half, and trailed by as many as 22 with 8:20 remaining.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.