Afternoon or not, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team was once again banished to the consolation bracket of its own Rainbow Classic.

Colorado State used a strong second-half surge to defeat Hawai'i, 74-58, on the opening night of the 45th Annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic last night.

A crowd of 3,958 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors end a six-game home winning streak to drop to 6-4. The Rams ended a six-game losing streak to improve to 4-8.

"It hurts," Hawai'i junior forward Bill Amis said. "But with tournaments, you have to come out and play the next day, still."

Hawai'i went 0-3 in the Classic last year, prompting a rule change that will keep the 'Bows in the evening sessions this year.

Hawai'i will play George Washington in a consolation game tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. Colorado State will play Vermont in a semifinal game tomorrow at 11 a.m.

"I thought we couldn't make shots," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "I thought our energy level was down and we didn't get production from certain guys that we normally depend on."

Roderick Flemings scored 22 points for the 'Bows, but he was the only Hawai'i player to score in double-digits.

Hawai'i center Petras Balocka was held to a season-low one point — 12 below his average — although he did grab eight rebounds. Amis scored nine points but grabbed just three rebounds.

"They out-worked us, and that can't happen at home," Amis said.

Hawai'i had a 36-34 lead at halftime, but then shot 26.1 percent from the field in the second half.

The Rams took control with an 11-3 run midway through the second half that gave them a 56-46 lead with 7:49 remaining.

Colorado State gradually increased the lead rest of the way, and the final losing margin was the largest of the season for UH.

Marcus Walker scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half to lead the Rams.

Colorado State head coach Tim Miles said Friday's blackout did not affect his team's preparation for the game.

"We don't know what we're doing anyway, if it's dark or not," he said.

The 'Bows finished with a .327 field-goal percentage, while the Rams finished at .510. Balocka went 0 of 7 from the field, and Lasha Parghalava went 1 of 8 from 3-point range for Hawai'i.

"I never talk about shooting with these guys," Nash said. "But certainly (Parghalava) took some errant shots tonight. But that didn't win or lose the game for us."

The Classic continues today with Buffalo against Pepperdine at 5 p.m., followed by Colorado against Coppin State around 7:30.

VERMONT 83, GEORGE WASHINGTON 73

Thanks to a Christmas Day on the beach on Thursday, and then an island-wide power blackout on Friday, the Vermont basketball team already has lots of stories to tell about its trip to Hawai'i.

But the story the Catamounts want the most is a Rainbow Classic championship.

They moved a step in that direction with an 83-73 victory over George Washington in the opening game of the 45th Annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"We're trying to enjoy this trip," Vermont head coach Mike Lonergan said. "Sometimes you wonder if you're letting guys have too much fun. So I'm really happy the guys were able to have an enjoyable couple of days and still get focused enough to be able to win this first-round game."

The Catamounts will play Colorado State in the semifinals tomorrow.

Maurice Joseph led a balanced Vermont attack with 18 points, including 6-of-6 shooting on free throws. Mike Trimboli added 15 points, Colin McIntosh had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Marqus Blakely contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Blakely, a 6-foot-5 junior, has 20 double-doubles since last season, including five this season.

Lonergan also cited the play of point guard Nick Vier as a key. Vier had nine points and seven assists.

The Catamounts were kept out of their Waikiki hotel for a few hours Friday night during the blackout. But Lonergan said it did not affect their preparation for the game, other than not being able to eat breakfast as a team yesterday morning.

"Just kind of gave us a little excitement," he said. "It'll make for interesting stories when we go back home."

The Catamounts led by as many as 12 points in the first half and took a 38-29 lead at intermission.

Vermont's biggest lead of the second half was 55-41 with 12:31 remaining.

The Colonials chipped away and cut the Vermont lead to 67-63 with 4:42 remaining, but that was as close as it would get. A clutch 3-pointer by Garvey Young put Vermont up 73-65, and proved to be the shot that put George Washington away for good.

"I thought that was a really good win for us," Lonergan said. "GW plays really hard."

Vermont shot 49.2 percent from the field, and out-rebounded the Colonials, 37-30.

"That's a real good rebounding team, so I thought our guys had a lot of fight," Lonergan said.

Vermont improved to 7-3, while George Washington dropped to 6-3.

Rob Diggs led the Colonials with game-highs of 25 points and 14 rebounds. Damian Hollis added 15 points.

"We didn't have any answers for Diggs," Lonergan said. "He's a great athlete; killed us on the glass."

George Washington will play in the 7:30 p.m. consolation game tomorrow against Hawai'i.