It was altogether fitting that when University of Nebraska-Omaha guard CJ Carter’s last-gasp shot missed the basket, it was Isaac Fotu who hauled in the rebound and gave the ball a high, jubilant toss at the final buzzer.

One last fling as it were for Fotu and Hawaii, who had plenty to rejoice over in the end to the nonconference portion of their schedule Friday night.

His once-broken right hand no longer encased in the claw-like brace and wrap, Fotu celebrated by scoring a game-high 26 points — 22 in a dominating second-half performance — and then declared himself "95 percent" healed.

"I’m good; the hand is ready," Fotu said.

And the Rainbow Warriors needed every bit of that return to form to rally past Omaha 77-73 in their opening effort of the 2014 calendar.

The victory, their ninth in the past 10 games, left the ‘Bows 11-3 and marked their best start since the 2003-04 season. That

(21-12) was the last time UH won 20 games or more and played in a major postseason event, the National Invitation Tournament.

An omen?

Perhaps. But for the moment it is encouraging enough that Fotu, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from New Zealand, had his best game of this season and was an unstoppable force inside, making good on eight of 11 field-goal attempts and becoming a reinvigorating presence on the court for a team that needed it.

The 10-for-12 shooting from the free-throw line would be testament to the health of a hand that had once made free throws an adventure as a Stan Sheriff Center crowd of about 5,000 roared its approval with each deft shot.

It all came not a moment too soon on a night when much of the ‘Bows’ starting lineup struggled mightily against the 10-5 Mavericks from the Summit League.

Fotu, who scored just four first-half points and was limited to seven minutes by two early personal fouls, was just what the doctor ordered in a game UH trailed 36-32 at halftime. The ‘Bows were in danger of getting left in the dust in the second half until Fotu weighed in with Hawaii’s first seven points and 15 of UH’s 19 early points.

At one point, Fotu’s 24 points nearly matched the combined 27 of the rest of the starting lineup as Christian Standhardinger (4-for-14), Brandon Spearman (2-for-10) and Keith Shamburger (2-for-10) struggled with their shots.

Despite a constant double team, Fotu was unstoppable in the paint and took over the game, spinning to find operating room and lofting in hook shots.

And that was just the start of it. Three times in a key three-minute span as time waned, Fotu saved errant shots that the ‘Bows were able to make good on with second-chance points.

By the end of the game, it was like Fotu couldn’t miss. That everything he touched turned to gold for UH.

So much so that you half expected that celebratory fling at the end to go in as well.

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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.