FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. » A 13-0 run with five minutes remaining highlighted a 51-point second half for Hawaii, leading to a 76-66 victory over Northern Arizona on Saturday night.

With the Rainbow Warriors’ leading scorer, senior Christian Standhardinger, struggling his way to six points and a 1-for-8 shooting night, junior Garrett Nevels erupted for 24 points as UH (6-2) dispatched the Lumberjacks (2-7) for the second straight season. However, this meeting hardly mirrored last season’s 34-point destruction in Honolulu.

"I never felt comfortable. I thought they were going to bring another push. But we were able to hit enough free throws to win it down at the end," said coach Gib Arnold. "Our two guys, Isaac Fotu and Christian, had off nights, but our guards stepped it up tonight."

Hawaii’s game-deciding 13-0 run directly followed NAU closing the lead back to four. The Rainbow Warriors had jumped out to a 10-point lead with less than 13 minutes remaining, but the Lumberjacks chipped away to get within four.

With the game tightening, Nevels, Brandon Spearman and Keith Shamburger rallied Hawaii back ahead by 17 as the clock fell under five minutes remaining. Again Northern Arizona attempted to climb back into the game with their own 12-2 run, but Shamburger drilled eight straight free throws over the final 2:26 to put the game away. Hawaii ended up forcing NAU into 21 turnovers and scored 29 points off of the Lumberjacks’ mistakes.

Shamburger finished with 15 points, including a perfect 10-for-10 from the line. Spearman added 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting. But it was Nevels, who drilled four of seven from 3-point range, who led the way for the Rainbow Warriors.

"Christian had an off game, but that just shows how deep our team is," Nevels said. "Pretty much throughout the season, it has been somebody’s night. Tonight it was my night, the next night it might be his, it might be Keith’s, it might be Spearman’s. Everybody’s going to eat."

Headed into halftime, Hawaii struggled with a mere 25 points. Standhardinger tallied just a single point, well off his season average. NAU coach Jack Murphy had his Lumberjacks playing exactly the way he wanted them to with the score tied at halftime.

"We were just a little bit slow that first half," Arnold said. "Jack and the team did a really good job of neutralizing us and taking us out of what we wanted to do. We weren’t able to run as much as we normally do."

Despite the neutralization of Standhardinger and Fotu throughout the night, Nevels stepped in to fill the scoring load. Early in the second half, the junior guard scored 10 points sandwiching a Fotu layup, in less than four minutes of play.

"We game-planned for him, he is their best player. Christian Standhardinger, night in and night out, he plays so hard, he does so many things for their team," Murphy said. "Obviously you are kind of picking your poison because Nevels went wild with 24 points and four 3s. We went zone a couple times and were able to locate their best shooter."

For Standhardinger, it was his lowest scoring output of the season, but he did grab seven of Hawaii’s 27 rebounds to lead the team while also blocking four shots. Fotu also managed just six points and grabbed three rebounds. However, the night went better for the sophomore defensively, as NAU’s leading scorer, Max Jacobsen, was neutralized as well.

Jacobsen managed only four points on 2-for-4 shooting, and grabbed five rebounds, well off his average of 15 points per game.

"What people forget is that Isaac Fotu is an amazing defensive player and he just locked him up," Standhardinger said.

Despite the sluggish start, it was the Rainbow Warriors who closed the game strong in the 7,000-foot elevation of Flagstaff, evidenced by their 18-6 advantage over the Lumberjacks on the fast break.

Arnold conceded that the elevation affects players differently and modified his substitutions from their normal season schedule.

"I think it does have something to do with it. We don’t tell our guys that, but they feel it," Arnold said. "When your lungs and legs are burning, there is a reason."

Nevels said he felt it.

"This elevation is nothing to play with," Nevels said. "My throat is still burning, my lungs are burning, but we got the win, so that is all that matters."

The Rainbow Warriors, fresh off breaking a six-game nonconference losing streak on the mainland, return to the court against Chaminade on Saturday at 7 p.m. on Kauai.

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 25, Northern Arizona 25
3-points goals — Hawaii 6-15 (Nevels 4-7, Shamburger 1-3, Spearman 1-3, Standhardinger 0-1, Smith 0-1). Northern Arizona 10-22 (Dixon 3-5, Upshur 3-9, Bewernick 2-2, Miller 2-4, Meeker 0-1, Kaluna 0-1).  Steals — Hawaii 14 (Standhardinger 3, Nevels 3, Shamburger 2, Rozitis 2, Fotu, Spearman, Smith, Valdes). Blocked shots — Hawaii 6 (Standhardinger 4, Fotu, Valdes). Northern Arizona 4 (Upshur 2, Kaluna, Springs). Technicals — none. Officials — Kurt Walker, Jeremy Dente, Phil White. A — 1,629.