Proving that Division I can be a powerful status, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team powered its way to an 83-69 exhibition victory over Brigham Young-Hawai'i last night. A crowd of 3,235 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the NCAA Division I Rainbow Warriors overcome injuries to key players to defeat the Seasiders, who are the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division II.

A crowd of 3,235 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the NCAA Division I Rainbow Warriors overcome injuries to key players to defeat the Seasiders, who are the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division II.

"The way Coach (Bob) Nash was hyping up this game for us, he was trying to make us know that we have to prove to everybody out here that we're the best team on this island," Hawai'i center Paul Campbell said.

If last night was any indication, there is no question.

The 'Bows led from start to finish, and dominated the area near the basket.

Campbell did his part, scoring 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting. He also grabbed eight rebounds to lead Hawai'i to a 46-24 advantage on the boards.

"Our size helped us a lot in this game," he said. "They were missing (center Lucas Alves), but we were missing a lot of players, too. We just took advantage of what we had."

Campbell, a 6-foot-10 senior, was not able to practice this week because of a sore knee. He was cleared to play yesterday afternoon, and was pressed into more action than expected due to injuries to his teammates.

"I don't even know what to tell you," he said. "Round-the-clock treatment ... just trying to get my knee better. It felt a lot better so I told coach I wanted to play."

Nash said of Campbell: "He's not a guy we run a whole lot of plays for, but he moves without the basketball. Tonight, they found him in situations where they give him the ball on the move to the basket, and he's a good finisher around the basket. It was a big night for him."

Four other 'Bows scored in double-figures. Petras Balocka scored 15 on 7-of-8 shooting, and grabbed six rebounds. Jeremy Lay and Adhar Mayen scored 13 each, and Leroy Lutu Jr. contributed 10 points. Hiram Thompson added nine points and nine assists.

Balocka, a 6-8 senior center, also received praise from Nash for his solid play on both ends of the court.

"There was a 10-minute stretch there where he played probably as good a basketball for him as we've seen in the whole time he's been here," Nash said.

Lay, who did not play in last week's exhibition victory over Hawai'i-Hilo, drew oohs and aahs from the crowd after several of his no-look passes. He finished with four assists, but also had six of the team's 29 turnovers.

"I don't think I played well; I had too many turnovers," Lay said. "But we got the win and that's all that really matters to me."

Hawai'i raced to a 16-4 lead to open the game, and led by as many as 19 points in the first half. The 'Bows eventually took a 39-27 lead at intermission, with Balocka and Campbell combining for 17 points in the first half.

"I thought Hawai'i came out and played really hard, got after us," BYUH head coach Ken Wagner said. "We didn't shoot well and I think we started pressing, trying to do things too quick."

BYUH scored the first five points of the second half to cut the Hawai'i lead to 39-32, and then got as close as 48-46 after Rory Patterson hit a 3-pointer with 12:10 remaining.

But immediately after Patterson's basket, BYUH guard Anthony Reilly was assessed a technical for questioning a foul call. It sparked a 14-4 run for the 'Bows that pushed Hawai'i's lead to 62-50 with 9:49 remaining.

"We made that run and weren't too smart and gave up four or six points in 10 seconds and we're back down again and couldn't recover," Wagner said.

Nash said: "That's good basketball. You're going to have those lulls and runs in a game. It's just how you control that. I don't think our guys panicked. They made smart decisions."

The Seasiders never got closer than seven points the rest of the game.

BYUH played without All-America center Alves, who was not in uniform due to a knee injury.

Marques Whippy, a 6-5 forward who is considered BYUH's best rebounder after Alves, was limited to 14 minutes due to foul trouble. He finished with six points and one rebound, and played just three minutes in the second half before fouling out.

Hawai'i was also without its best player. All-conference forward Roderick Flemings was not in uniform because of a groin/abdomen injury. Nash said he expects Flemings to be ready when the regular season starts next week.

Two other key players for Hawai'i sat out: senior forward Brandon Adams (ankle) and junior guard Dwain Williams (thumb).

What's more, starting forward Bill Amis played just 11 minutes in the first half, then sat out the rest of the game with a foot injury.

Even without those players, the 'Bows shot 60 percent from the field and passed for 22 assists.

"Satisfied with the win, but not satisfied with the play," Lay said. "We can always get better. If you win by double-digits and have 29 turnovers, you should have won by like something way different."

The Seasiders, who finished with a 27-2 record last season, shot just 36.8 percent from the field. JR Buensuceso led the Seasiders with 17 points. Patterson added 15, and Jet Chang scored 12.

The final result and statistics will not count for either team.

Hawai'i will open its regular season on Nov. 13 against Southern Utah on the opening night of the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.