KANSAS CITY, Mo. » Hawaii came up with a swift and immediate response the first time it faced a double-digit deficit against Missouri on Saturday night.

The Rainbow Warriors couldn’t find the answer when it happened a second time, and dropped a 92-80 decision to Missouri in front of a crowd of 13,681 at the Sprint Center.

Hawaii (2-2) fell behind by 10 points with five minutes to play in the first half, but responded with a 16-5 run to take a one-point lead into the break.

"I think we stayed together … that’s where the spark came from, just from our hustle plays and (staying) together," said Hawaii forward Christian Standhardinger, who led the Rainbow Warriors with 22 points.

Missouri (3-0) was led by 23 points from Jabari Brown. But Hawaii coach Gib Arnold pointed to the play of guard Jordan Clarkson.

Clarkson finished with 13 points. He played only three minutes of the first half after picking up two fouls, the second of which was a technical.

The Tigers attacked the rim with gusto in the second half, with Clarkson leading the way.

"With those new rule changes that’s going on, Jordan Clarkson should probably send a lot of scholarship money to the new rules committee because I don’t know how anyone in the country is going to guard him off the bounce," Arnold said. "We tried a lot of different things. We trapped him, we jumped him … but I thought he was really good."

The only time Hawaii didn’t struggle with Clarkson was when he was tied to the bench in the first half.

"He was easy to guard that first half when he was an assistant coach, but once he’s back in the game he’s hard to guard. He’s just relentless," Arnold said.

Missouri finished with a 56-26 advantage on points in the paint, and a 28-11 edge in bench points.

Hawaii’s lineup did get deeper with the return of Brandon Spearman. He suffered an ankle injury at the opening tip of Hawaii’s exhibition game, and didn’t make his season debut until Saturday.

Spearman drilled his first shot of the season — a 3-pointer — and finished with 11 points.

"I’m happy that we came to Missouri, honestly. I have family in Chicago, so they came down. I wish we came to the Midwest more, but it felt good to get the first one out of the way," Spearman said.

Arnold was happy to have him back in the fold.

"He’s a little bit out of shape and worn down at the end, but he gave us a nice spark and played really well. It’s good to have him back," Arnold said. "He’s one of the leaders on this team, and he’s going to make us a much better team as he gets back in game-playing shape."

Hawaii guard Garrett Nevels had 17 points, and Keith Shamburger finished with 12.

Hawaii’s first trip to the mainland this season didn’t result in a win. But the Rainbow Warriors were able to hang with the toughest team they’ve faced this season despite having an off night from the field, particularly the 3-point line.

Hawaii shot 5-for-21 from 3-point range on Saturday after shooting at a 31 percent clip in the season’s first three games.

"I was proud of (the resiliency) on a night where we didn’t shoot the ball well. We’re actually a pretty good shooting team," Arnold said. "We’ve got guys who can knock down 3s. We weren’t getting any flow by making 3s, and it had to come a little differently. It had to come out of our defense and drives and at the foul line. I never felt we were out. I felt we could make another run … we just didn’t do it tonight."

The Rainbow Warriors now return home for three games.

"They came at us tough. They hit us with a couple punches," Spearman said. "We tried to take it, but they played good. They’re a good team."

NOTES

» Missouri holds a 5-1 edge in the series between the two schools. This was the first time Hawaii played the Tigers since 1995.

» Missouri forward Tony Criswell made his first appearance of the regular season, and scored 11 points. Interim coach Tim Fuller said Criswell is serving a game-by-game conditional suspension.

Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.
Halftime — Hawaii 46, Missouri 45.
3-points goals — Hawaii 5-21 (Nevels 3-5, Spearman 2-9, Stanhardinger 0-1, Smith 0-1, Fotu 0-2, Shamburger 0-3). Missouri 4-12 (Brown 3-6, Clark 1-2, Clarkson 0-1, Ross 0-3).  Steals — Hawaii 5 (Shamburger 2, Nevels, Fotu, Smith). Missouri 7 (Ross 2, Brown, Clarkson, Rosburg, Criswell, Clark). Blocked shots — Hawaii 2 (Fotu, Rozitis). Missouri 7 (Rosburg 2, Post 2, Brown, Ross, Williams). Technicals — Missouri 1 (Clarkson). Officials — Mike Nance, Patrick Evans, Jeff Smith. A — 13,681.