As a result, the Rainbow Warriors got well with a 71-59 victory over the Mustangs last night.

A crowd of 4,729 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows win their 13th consecutive home game to improve to 10-2 overall and 2-2 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Mustangs dropped to 7-6 overall and 2-3 in the WAC.

"For the kind of week we had, with the illnesses and everything, I thought we came out and played hard, especially in the first half," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said.

Several 'Bows missed practice this week with flu-like symptoms, but 12 of the 13 players in uniform saw action last night.

Jake Sottos scored a career-high 17 points in a key reserve role to lead four 'Bows in double-figure points. The others were "Little Matt" Gibson with 14, Jeff Blackett with 13 and Julian Sensley with 10.

"I saw the team needed a little help out there and I just came in and did what I do all the time in practice," Sottos said.

Junior forward "Big Matt" Gipson, who was one of the sick 'Bows on Wednesday, started last night and finished with nine points, five rebounds and five steals.

Junior center Chris Botez received praise from Wallace for his defensive play. He finished with six points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots.

"Co-MVP's for me were Sottos on the offensive end and Botez on the defensive end," Wallace said.

But one of the most significant turning points came before the game when SMU announced that star point guard Bryan Hopkins would not play because of an injury to his right (shooting) wrist. He leads the Mustangs in scoring with 17.5 points per game, and leads the WAC with 37 3-pointers.

"That was a big loss for us, but that's part of basketball," SMU head coach Jimmy Tubbs said. "Injuries are a part of it."

Without Hopkins, the Mustangs struggled from the outset. SMU committed three turnovers in the first three minutes, allowing Hawai'i to race to a 10-2 lead.

"I thought it was great," Sensley said of Hopkins' absence. "He makes everything go for them. When you rely on somebody like that so much through the season, I think they kind of didn't know what to do without him."

Hawai'i pulled away with a 15-4 surge midway through the first half that made the score 32-15.

By halftime, Hawai'i built a seemingly insurmountable 46-23 lead by shooting 58.6 percent from the field (17 of 29). Meanwhile, SMU shot just 36 percent in the first half (9 of 25) and committed 11 turnovers.

"In the first half, we had a lot of fast breaks," said Gibson, who scored 12 in the first half. "We were pulling rebounds and getting quick outlet passes."

But by the start of the second half, SMU was without three starters. Besides Hopkins, guard Derrick Roberts did not make the trip because of a knee injury, and forward Justin Isham left last night's game with an injured left ankle late in the first half.

Because of the injuries, the fast-paced Mustangs slowed it down in the second half by retreating into a defensive zone.

"We changed some strategy," Tubbs said. "We don't play that much zone, but because of the numbers, we had to."

The SMU zone cooled off all of Hawai'i's shooters except Sottos.

The 6-foot-4 senior shot 6 of 9 from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range. The rest of the team combined to shoot 0 for 10 from 3-point range.

"The zone obviously bothered us in the second half; it was effective against us because we didn't attack," Wallace said. "It's good that we had Jake because he looked to make some shots against it."

Sottos said: "I just felt good tonight and that zone just helps it out a little more."

Hawai'i shot just 27.6 percent from the field in the second half, and allowed the depleted Mustangs to chip away at the lead. SMU got as close as 65-55 with 2:39 remaining, but Sottos hit a driving jump shot to help the 'Bows avoid a late collapse.

"We had a really, really ugly second half and the only part I can say was good about it was Jake," Gibson said. "He's the one that kept us ahead."

Hawai'i also made its first 18 free throws of the game, and finished 18 of 19 after reserve Kris Groce missed one in the closing seconds. The 'Bows entered the game with a 61.1 free-throw percentage.

"If we shot like that all year long, we'd be undefeated," Gibson said.

Wallace said he was not pleased with Hawai'i's 19 turnovers, including seven by Sensley.

Sensley did grab a team-high nine rebounds to lead Hawai'i to a 40-33 advantage on the boards.

Devon Pearson scored a career-high 24 points to lead SMU. Patrick Simpson added 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Eric Castro finished with 11 points, but shot just 5 of 21 from the field. He entered the game ranked first in the WAC and sixth in NCAA Division I with a field-goal percentage of 64.0.

"We wanted to go inside, but I don't know how much success we had," Tubbs said. "Eric missed a lot of shots. I thought he rushed some."

Wallace credited Botez for Castro's misses.

"He really changed Castro's game," Wallace said. "He had his number there."

Freshman Jon Killen, who started in place of Hopkins, finished with four points and two assists.

Hawai'i will conclude its three-game WAC homestand tomorrow when it hosts Louisiana Tech.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.