Some of the contributions that spurred Hawaii’s victory to open the program’s first Big West Conference season were evident in the postgame numbers.

After the win over Cal State Northridge on Saturday, UH head coach Gib Arnold chose to highlight a few less obvious factors in the 74-71 victory.

"Everybody who played tonight helped in the win," Arnold said. "I preach it all the time, whether it’s two minutes or 32 minutes, just play the hardest and do something to help the team."

Garrett Jefferson and Brandon Spearman played single-digit minutes on Saturday and combined for two points, but Arnold noted that both contributed to defensive stops in the final minute after subbing into the game.

Hauns Brereton returned to the starting lineup, but had played just five minutes in the second half when he was summoned to take a foul and dropped in two free throws with nine seconds left. Brereton, who finished with eight points, had attempted just one free throw in the previous five games and had gone scoreless in UH’s last two.

The clutch moments late might not have come around if not for center Davis Rozitis providing energy and a defensive presence to help spark an 18-0 run after the Rainbows fell behind early in the first half.

"They wouldn’t be considered stars of the game but I think those guys are the absolute MVPs and I’m just so proud of everybody who came in and helped out," Arnold said.

It took the entire team to pull out the win, though it wasn’t quite a complete performance. The Rainbows struggled against Cal State Northridge’s quickness early on. Free-throw shooting also remains an issue after sinking only 16 of 31 attempts, including 13 of 24 in the second half.

Dealing with defensive pressure in the backcourt figures to be a recurring theme for the Rainbows (7-5, 1-0 Big West) as they progress through the Big West season. The next test comes Thursday against a Cal State Fullerton team picked to finish second in the league.

"We’ve got to continually work on being able to play against a team that gets up in you," Arnold said. "We have to figure out how to play tough vs. quick and strong vs. quick.

"If we’re going to make it a game of quickness and perimeter stuff against teams like (CSUN) and against the team that’s coming in next Thursday, Fullerton, it’s going to be long nights for us."

Brereton and Jace Tavita rejoined the starting group after freshmen Manroop Clair and Brandon Jawato had started the previous two games. Clair and Jawato entered the game with UH trailing in the first half and sparked a 25-3 outburst. Clair ended up playing 28 minutes, while Tavita was on the floor for 13.

"One of the main reasons Manroop Clair in the Diamond Head Classic played so many minutes was because I knew that for us to be as good as we can be, he’s got to play and he’s got to get confidence in playing because he’s the quickest of our point guards and the best shooter of our point guards," Arnold said.

Avoiding turnovers up top gives the Rainbows a chance to find their big men down low. Isaac Fotu was UH’s primary option in the final minutes against CSUN. Fotu finished with 16 points, 10 coming in the second half, and 11 rebounds to complement Christian Standhardinger’s 17 points and eight boards. CSUN had three players foul out and was whistled for 25 total fouls while making 28 shots from the field.

"They were in foul trouble because they couldn’t guard the centers," Standhardinger said. "They were in foul trouble so they had a wing guarding Fotu and that’s always a mismatch. Fotu has one of the best post moves I have ever seen in my career. There’s no way they can stop him with a guard on his back."

Cal State Fullerton (7-5, 1-0) opened with an 86-79 win over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. Sammy Yeager, a 6-foot-4 forward, hit eight of 11 3-pointers on his way to a 30-point performance. Titans guard Kwame Vaughn added 27 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field and a 12-for-12 night at the free-throw line.

UH closes its three-game homestand against UC Riverside (3-10, 0-1) on Saturday. The Highlanders lost at home to Cal Poly 58-48 over the weekend.