One night before Halloween, the University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team got a scare put into it.
The Rainbow Warriors defeated Hawai‘i-Hilo, 76-65, in a closer-than-expected exhibition game.

A crowd of 2,363 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the NCAA Division I ’Bows rally from a five-point deficit early in the second half to defeat the NCAA Division II Vulcans. The ’Bows never led by double-digits until the closing seconds.
The final result and statistics will not count for either team.
Bill Amis led UH-Mänoa with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Hiram Thompson added 19 points and Roderick Flemings added 14.
Flemings, the team’s top returning player from last season, started the game and played 24 minutes. He missed several recent practices with a groin injury, and appeared to aggravate the injury in the second half and sat out the final five minutes.
UH-Mänoa’s three new recruits — guards Jeremy Lay, Dwain Williams and center Douglas Kurtz — sat out with injuries.
The ’Bows raced to a 13-6 lead to open the game, but the scrappy Vulcans battled back and had the lead for most of the final eight minutes of the half.
UH-Hilo led by as many as five (31-26) with 2:18 remaining in the half. The ’Bows closed the half with an 8-3 run to tie it at 34 at intermission.
Thompson had 11 points in the first half for UH-Mänoa, but he shot just 2 of 9 from the field. He finished 3 of 12 for the game, but went 11 of 12 on free throws.
The game stayed close early in the second half, with the lead changing seven times.
UH-Mänoa took the lead for good at 58-56 on two free throws by Thompson with 9:01 remaining.
The ’Bows pushed the lead to 68-60 with 5:15 remaining and then held off the Vulcans the rest of the way.
Justin Smith led UH-Hilo with 19 points.
The ’Bows will play another exhibition game against a Pacific West Conference team on Thursday when they host Brigham Young-Hawai‘i. The Seasiders are the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division II.