A fresh backcourt and a seasoned post presence collaborated to give Hawaii an emphatic bounce-back win on Day 2 of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

Freshman guards Manroop Clair and Brandon Jawato got the first starting nods of their young careers, UH’s big men dominated the interior and the Rainbow Warriors blew past East Tennessee State 84-61 a day after suffering their most lopsided loss of the season.

Only one more game stands between Hawaii and its Big West Conference debut. UH (6-4) takes on Ole Miss (9-2) at 11:30 a.m. on Christmas Day in the DHC consolation championship. It is the third straight year UH is playing in the fifth-place game.

The ‘Bows got back there with "attitude, energy and effort," UH coach Gib Arnold said. It was a mantra he repeated several times in the postgame press conference.

"Give the guys credit for rebounding on a tough turnaround time and a tough loss," Arnold said. "I thought our attitude was good; I thought we played for each other. I thought our energy was good, and I thought our effort on the defensive end especially was really good."

Despite playing about 18 hours after their 73-58 loss to Miami (Fla.) wrapped up, UH executed to the tune of 50.7 percent shooting while holding short-handed ETSU (2-9) to 34.3 percent. The ‘Bows dominated the backboards 49-26 and dished a season-high 22 assists.

That last part was thanks largely to the wispy Clair, who had season highs of 15 points and five assists in 30 minutes. The most he’d played in any game prior was 13. Jace Tavita, the usual starter until this tournament, played only three minutes off the bench.

"I was kind of tired today. Like, my butt hurts right now," Clair said with a laugh. "But it’s a good feeling, but as long as we got the W, that’s all that matters."

He got a round of applause from the Stan Sheriff Center crowd of about 3,500 when he checked out in the second half.

Arnold said Clair, the best shooter among UH’s point guards, got the nod because of his skill-set, the matchup (a zone-heavy team) and because he wanted to develop depth and confidence for Big West play. Clair delivered against ETSU’s zone with 4-for-8 shooting from deep.

"He hurt us," ETSU coach Murry Bartow said. "He’s a guy who can make shots. We lost him a couple times in our zone."

Jawato, who scored a team-best 12 in a 15-point loss to Miami in the first round, couldn’t replicate his shooting touch (1-for-9) in starting for the struggling Hauns Brereton. But he hustled for four steals, which met with the coach’s approval.

"We need those guys, who are very skilled but young," Arnold said. "They need to grow up."

UH’s starting big man trio of senior Vander Joaquim, junior Christian Standhardinger and freshman Isaac Fotu was outplayed by the Hurricanes’ massive front line on Saturday night, but it had a field day against the undersized, undermanned Buccaneers. Joaquim submitted a season-high 23 points with nine rebounds, Standhardinger had his fifth double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 boards, and Fotu double-doubled up for the first time in his career with 14 points and 14 caroms.

UH posted an 18-0 run bridging the halves to seize control for good. Joaquim got the second period started with a smooth hook shot and a top-arc 3-pointer, which is becoming something of a trademark of the Angolan’s this season. He hit two from that spot against ETSU, to go with a springy effort in the post. UH overpowered the Bucs 42-20 in the paint.

"We just came prepared to play, and the guards gave us the ball," said Joaquim, who was one off his career high. "We (are) much stronger and bigger inside, you gotta go inside. And that’s what we did tonight. We just did what we do best."

A team decimated by both injuries and player dismissals, ETSU of the Atlantic Sun Conference dressed only eight players for the game.

The Buccaneers started 3-for-18 from the field and got no closer than six after falling behind by 14 early. Guards Jarvis Jones and Rashawn Rembert led ETSU with 14 points apiece.

"I like Hawaii’s team. We knew their size could hurt us and it did. We knew their rebounding could hurt us and it did," Bartow said. "The start of the second half hurt us a lot. At half we felt we were right in the game."

The Bucs, a late DHC replacement team for Texas Tech, will try to salvage a win in the islands against San Francisco (5-6) in the seventh-place game at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

UH jumped out to a 10-3 lead and went up by 14 before ETSU pushed back. The Bucs got to within 28-22 before the ‘Bows closed the first half with a 6-0 run to make it 34-22 at halftime.