Even in these tough economic times, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team found a way to earn interest on its payback.

The Rainbow Warriors defeated Idaho, 71-49, last night behind a career-best performance from Kareem Nitoto and a highlight-reel game from Roderick Flemings.

The 22-point victory avenged a 20-point loss at Idaho last month.

"On the road, all games is rough," Flemings said. "We just wanted to come back and protect our house, get them back for the 20-point beating. So we got what we wanted, really."

A crowd of 3,475 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows improve to 12-11 overall and 4-7 in the Western Athletic Conference with their second consecutive blowout win.

On Thursday, Hawai'i defeated Fresno State, 69-43. It is the first time in the modern era of UH basketball (since 1963) that a Hawai'i team has held back-to-back opponents below 50 points.

"That's really where it started, on defense," Flemings said.

Nitoto led the way, scoring a career-high 21 points, and helping limit Idaho star Mac Hopson to a season-low five points.

"We had some guys tonight that stepped up in a big way," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "Kareem in particular. He found his shooting touch and had a great performance. Not just scoring, but he played his on-ball defense against arguably one of the better guards in this league."

Nitoto, who entered the game averaging 5.8 points per game, shot 8 of 10 from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range. Prior to last night, he was 3 of 25 from 3-point range this season.

"I just took the shots that were given to me," said Nitoto, a 6-foot-2 sophomore. "I didn't force any shots. I took the wide-open shots and tonight I knocked it down."

Interestingly, last night was Nitoto's first start of the season as a shooting guard. He normally starts at point guard, but the lineup was shifted due to the absence of starting forward Bill Amis, who sat out with an injured ankle.

Hiram Thompson started at point guard, Nitoto moved to shooting guard, and Flemings moved from shooting guard to small forward.

"Being down a man tonight, with Bill — his ankle — I asked each guy to do a little bit more," Nash said.

Nitoto said the 67-47 loss to Idaho at Moscow, Idaho, last month was motivation enough. That was Hawai'i's worst game of the season for points and margin of loss.

"When we were out there, I felt that sense of embarrassment," Nitoto said. "I felt like I really let the team down in Idaho, and I just wanted to come out here and make up for that and play hard."

Flemings contributed 16 points and seven rebounds, leading the 'Bows to a 33-18 advantage on the boards.

"Tonight, Rod brought that passion for the game," Nash said. "He's brought it the last couple games, where he's going hard to the boards and his teammates are rallying behind him."

Three of his baskets came on monster dunks, including a "poster" jam over Idaho's Travis Blackstock in the second half.

"I was just having fun, trying to play hard for my team," Flemings said. "I got a few to go down."

The game was close only for a few brief minutes in the first half.

The 'Bows raced to an 8-0 lead to open the game and stayed in front the entire way.

The Vandals cut it to 16-13 with 7:46 remaining, but Hawai'i closed the first half with a 12-4 run to take a 28-17 lead at halftime.

Idaho did not make a field goal in the final 7:45 of the first half, and went 4 of 7 from the free-throw line during that stretch.

The 'Bows turned it into a rout with a 14-2 run early in the second half that made the score 47-24 with 10:53 remaining. The Vandals never got closer than 20 the rest of the way.

"I thought Hawai'i dominated every phase of the game tonight," Idaho head coach Don Verlin said. "Early in the year, they took a young team on the road. But I tell you, lately they've been really playing good basketball, showing it this weekend really handing it to us and Fresno."

Marvin Jefferson led Idaho with 11 points.

Hopson entered the game averaging 16.9 points and 6.0 assists per game. He finished nearly 12 points off his average on 2-of-8 shooting, and had three assists and six turnovers.

"That had to be one of the big stat lines in the game," Verlin said.

Hawai'i finished the game with a season-high .568 field-goal percentage, while holding Idaho to a .381 percentage.

The Vandals dropped to 10-12 overall and 4-5 in the WAC. Hawai'i is in seventh place in the WAC, but just one game away from the fifth-place Vandals.

Hawai'i's next game is Saturday against Nevada at the Sheriff Center.