MOSCOW, Idaho—A disciplined defense — and a disciplined Matt Gibson — led the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team to a 58-53 victory over Idaho last night.

A Cowan Spectrum crowd of 1,518 — the largest home attendance of the season for Idaho — walked into the freezing night in silence as Hawai'i was able to avenge a disappointing loss here last season.

"I thought everybody contributed to this win, that's what makes it a good win," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "We talked about being at our best defensively for this game, and for the most part, I thought we were."

Gibson led the Rainbow Warriors with 16 points off the bench.

He did not start due to disciplinary reasons, but entered the game with 15:19 remaining in the first half and played extensively the rest of the way.

"This is my job, and regardless of the situation, I'm going to do my part to help this team win," Gibson said.

The 6-foot-5 senior point guard, who was held out of Friday's practice for "insubordination," shot 6 of 9 from the field and passed for four assists in 30 minutes last night.

"It was a big deal at the time, but we weren't going to let it divide us," Nash said. "We addressed the issue, Matt was held accountable for his actions, and he came out and helped us win the game."

Gibson's effort led a balanced Hawai'i attack. Bobby Nash and Jared Dillinger added 12 points each, and P.J. Owsley scored a season-high 10.

The score was tied at 48 with 2:58 remaining, but Gibson's driving layup put Hawai'i up for good at 50-48 with 2:23 remaining. The 'Bows went 8 for 8 on free throws in the final 1:47 to secure the victory.

"We found a way to win, that's the main thing," Bobby Nash said. "Not all our shots were falling, but we did other things."

Bob Nash was particularly pleased with Hawai'i's defense.

The 53 points were the fewest scored by a Hawai'i opponent this season, and the 'Bows limited the Vandals to a .391 field-goal percentage.

"I just thought we were flat, and I don't understand why," Idaho head coach George Pfeifer said. "We had a good crowd, we were coming off a good win ... I take nothing away from Hawai'i, they came in and played hard. But on our part, it's extremely disappointing that we didn't give our best effort."

Idaho went 3 of 16 from 3-point range, including 1 of 7 by Mike Hall. In a 74-63 victory over San Jose State on Thursday, Hall went 9 of 10 from 3-point range.

"I thought we did a good job defensively and we contested every shot," Bob Nash said. "We didn't want to get into a running match, so if it was going to be a slower-paced game, we had to be solid defensively on every possession."

Without Gibson in the starting lineup, the 'Bows started Nash, Dillinger and Riley Luettgerodt in the backcourt, and Owsley and Bill Amis in the post.

That group raced to a 6-3 lead to open the game, but when Hall hit a wide-open jump shot, Nash summoned Gibson off the bench.

"Of course, I'd rather be starting, that's where I'm more comfortable," Gibson said. "But when something like that happens, you just make the most of it."

Idaho jumped ahead by as many as six points midway through the first half, but Gibson's 3-pointer ignited a 10-0 surge that gave Hawai'i a 20-16 lead.

The score was tied at 24 at intermission, and it stayed close the entire second half.

The biggest lead for Hawai'i came at 39-31 on a layup by Owsley with 10:01 remaining. But the Vandals eventually tied it at 48 on a driving layup by Clyde Johnson.

After Gibson's layup put Hawai'i ahead, Idaho missed on several opportunities to tie or go ahead in the final minute.

Hall missed a 3-pointer with Idaho down 52-51, then Johnson — who hit the game-winning 3 to give Idaho a 76-75 victory over Hawai'i last year — air-balled a 3-pointer with the Vandals trailing 54-51.

"I imagined everything that happened last year, and didn't want to see it again," Bobby Nash said. "So when I saw (Johnson) coming off that screen, I said I have to at least contest it."

The Vandals got as close as 56-53, but Gibson's two free throws with 7.8 seconds remaining ended it.

"The year's going on and we're getting better at finishing these close games," he said. "I wouldn't say our game was ugly. We could have made more shots, but I thought we played well and executed and that got us the win."

Luettgerodt grabbed two key rebounds and went 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the closing seconds to help secure the win. It was his only four points of the game.

"It was a tough night for me from the field, but I got a couple of rebounds at the end and got fouled, so I knew I had to step up and come through for my team," he said.

The 'Bows shot 47.6 percent from the field and 16 of 19 (84.2 percent) on free throws. Idaho won the rebounding battle, 31-23, but the Vandals also committed 19 turnovers to Hawai'i's 15.

"This was probably the least amount of grit that we showed this season," Pfeifer said. "And that part is not right."

Jordan Brooks led the Vandals with 17 points and six assists, but also committed seven turnovers.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.