If this were like Sunday's Honolulu Marathon, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team would have had a sprinting start and a limping finish.

Either way, it was still enough for a win as the Rainbow Warriors defeated Chicago State, 85-75.

A crowd of 3,131 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Hawai'i improve to 5-3 with their fifth consecutive home victory. The Cougars dropped to 3-6.

The 'Bows led by as many as 22 points in the second half, but had to hold off a furious rally by the Cougars in the minutes.

Petras Balocka led Hawai'i with 21 points and 10 rebounds. His 3-pointer with 1:18 remaining sealed the win after the Cougars had cut the Hawaii lead to nine.

Roderick Flemings added 20 points and seven rebounds, 48 hours after scoring 37 points in a victory over Eastern Washington.

Bill Amis contributed 12 points and seven rebounds, and Adhar Mayen scored 11 points for Hawai'i.

The 'Bows passed for a season-high 23 assists, and committed a season-low nine turnovers.

Hawai'i point guard Kareem Nitoto passed for a career-high eight assists, and helped limit Chicago State leading scorer David Holston to seven points in the decisive first half.

Holston, who entered the game ranked second in the country in scoring with 26.9 points per game, finished with 28, although most came in the closing minutes when the Cougars were in catch-up mode.

Holston, a 5-foot-8 senior, shot 9 of 20 from the field, including 6 of 16 from 3-point range. He also passed for five assists while playing all 40 minutes.

The 'Bows jumped to a 9-0 lead to open the game, and was never really challenged the rest of the first half.

Flemings and Balocka each scored 10 points in the first half to help Hawai'i build a 44-22 lead at intermission.

The Cougars shot just 23.3 percent (7 of 30) from the field in the first half, and Holston was limited to seven points on 1-of-8 shooting.

The Cougars got a pair of spectacular dunks from John Cantrell early in the second half to cut the Hawai'i lead to 45-30, but the 'Bows responded with a 9-2 surge to regain control.

Chicago State got as close as nine with 1:54 remaining, but never any closer.

Cantrell added 24 points and seven rebounds for Chicago State.

Hawai'i finished the game with a .468 field goal percentage, while Chicago State finished at .418.

The game was the second in an eight-game homestand for Hawai'i. The 'Bows also improved to 4-1 in Monday night games this season, including 4-0 in the Sheriff Center.

Hawai'i's next game is scheduled for Dec. 23 against UC Riverside at the Sheriff Center.