Sometimes, it's the little things that can lead a team to victory.

Last night, it was "Little Matt" Gibson who led the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team to a 79-58 victory over Coppin State.

A crowd of 3,176 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors improve to 2-3 as Gibson made his season debut. Coppin State, which is from Baltimore, dropped to 3-4.

Gibson, a 6-foot-5 senior point guard, sat out the first four games of the season with an injured left knee. He returned to action last night and responded with game highs of 18 points and six assists.

"I knew when I came out I just had to let the game come, and not try to force too many things — and I did a couple of times," Gibson said. "Coach Nash let me make a few mistakes and let me get my rhythm back and once I got the rhythm back, it was OK after that."

Gibson's presence apparently sparked the rest of the team, as four other 'Bows finished with double-figure points: Riley Luettgerodt scored 17, Bill Amis had a career-high 16, Jared Dillinger had 11, and Bobby Nash 10.

"We got a great rotation now," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said.

Gibson's production came in a reserve role. He did not start, but entered with 15:43 remaining in the first half.

Hawai'i started the same five it has used all season — Dillinger and Luettgerodt at guards, Amis and Nash at forwards, and Stephen Verwers at center.

"They started it good," Gibson said of the starting unit. "I had to wait my turn tonight."

Amis, a 6-9 sophomore forward, led the early charge. He scored 10 points in the first half, despite sitting out the final 9:16 after picking up his second foul.

"We came out right from the start and established low-post," Amis said. "That freed up a lot of open jumpers for the guards."

Amis finished 5 of 9 from the field and 6 of 6 on free throws, and also blocked three shots.

"Shots were falling, the ball was coming my way, and I tried to make the most of it," he said.

Amis and Gibson are both graduates of Putnam City High in Oklahoma City, Okla.

"Putnam City, baby," Gibson said, smiling at Amis.

The game was tied at 10 with 15:01 remaining in the half, but Hawai'i never trailed the entire game.

The 'Bows took a 40-32 lead at intermission, with Dillinger draining a 3-pointer just before the horn sounded to end the half.

Gibson's first shot was an air ball — "a little too excited, I think," he said — but he finished 5 of 11 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.

His 3-pointer with 14:37 remaining in the second half capped an 11-3 run that increased the Hawai'i lead to 51-35. The Eagles never got closer than 13 the rest of the way.

The 'Bows made a season-high nine 3-pointers, and shot 45 percent from beyond the arc.

"We figured they would be a perimeter shooting team," Coppin State head coach Ron Mitchell said. "We were supposed to play them for the jump shot, but they got a lot of uncontested jump shots."

But the 'Bows also fared well inside, out-rebounding the Eagles, 39-30. Luettgerodt and Nash each grabbed seven rebounds, and Amis and Verwers got six each.

The Eagles used 12 players last night, none taller than 6-7. Hawai'i used 10 players, and six were 6-7 or taller.

Coppin State shot just 37.0 percent from the field, including 26.9 percent (7 of 26) in the second half.

"We set a goal for ourselves to keep teams under 40-percent shooting, and I think we were able to do that tonight," Nash said.

Coppin State played without leading scorer Tywain McKee, who was not in uniform because of an injured foot. The 6-2 senior guard is averaging 21.3 points per game, and scored 22 in a 79-67 loss at Hawai'i last season.

"It's still a game we're supposed to win," Mitchell said. "We won't use any excuses. We just have to play harder."

Bob Nash said he was not aware of McKee's status until a few minutes before tipoff.

"It didn't change the way we were going to play," he said. "(But) we were going to pay a little bit more attention to him because he is a big-time scorer."

A'Daeron Duncan led the Eagles with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Robert Pressey added 11 points and five rebounds.

Hawai'i's 21-point victory came less than a week after a 29-point loss on the road at New Mexico.

The 'Bows will travel again on Friday for a road game at San Diego on Sunday. That will be the return game for a home-and-home series — the Toreros beat the 'Bows, 73-72, in the season opener.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.