Gib Arnold had seen enough from persistent Cal State Fullerton.

With CSF about to tie Hawaii at 70 with free throws with 3:39 to play, the new Rainbow Warriors coach made a decree to his players in a timeout: Don’t let them score again.

Arnold’s fledgling team put away the Titans with a flourish at the hand of senior point guard Hiram Thompson. Hawaii scored the final 14 points, including nine by Thompson, to win 84-70 last night before a crowd of 4,609 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"I should have said that earlier," Arnold quipped. "That was my fault. We listened."

Other Rainbows came up big on the second day of the 47th Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic as UH improved to 2-0.

Senior forward Bill Amis had a career-high 24 points and nine rebounds and freshman guard Bo Barnes posted 19 points and five 3-pointers for the second straight night to start his UH career. Junior guard Zane Johnson added 13 points.

"Coach said ‘Don’t let them score again,’ and we really locked down," said Amis, who shot 10-for-13 and had three blocks and three steals. "We just got into them near the end."

UH can win the round-robin Classic outright with a victory over Central Michigan tomorrow at 11 p.m. in an ESPN-televised game as part of the College Hoops Tip-off Marathon.

The new-look Rainbows proved on Friday against Montana State they could win in a blowout. Last night, they proved they could win a tight one. Thompson was the cooler, hitting all six free throws and nailing a 3-pointer from the right angle in the decisive run.

"Even though we knocked down shots to end the game, we really won it on the defensive end," said Thompson, who had seven assists against one turnover. "That’s been our emphasis all season."

UH shot 63.6 percent in the second half and 51.9 percent for the game, while CSUF (0-2) was limited to 36.4 percent shooting after halftime.

The speedy Titans of the Big West Conference, without a player taller than 6-foot-7 on their roster, gave the hosts a healthy dose of zone defense. For almost the entire second half, UH went small to counter with the 6-foot-9 Amis at center.

UH complemented that with a peppering of 3-pointers — the Rainbows went 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) from deep. Barnes had five 3s, Zane Johnson three and Thompson two.

"For a new team, to get zoned like that, I was very pleased," Arnold said. "First time going against a zone, against a team that was kind of a matchup problem for us with their quickness, and all their guys being able to shoot, we were able to grind out a win. Most of all, pleased with how we ended the game."

The Rainbows made 18 free throws and the Titans attempted just 13.

Resilient CSUF trailed the whole second half, but went on a 6-0 spurt to tie the game at 70. That would be all for the visitors.

CSUF coach Bob Burton noted he was without two of his best players, forwards Andre Hardy and Jer’Vaughn Johnson, but credited Hawaii’s shooters, Barnes and Johnson, for the reason Thompson was so effective late.

"We just ran out of gas. I was really excited to be tied up," Burton said. "We were right where we wanted to be … (Thompson) did a great job for them and he had some help from the other two guys because we were really worried about them."

The Rainbows used runs of 9-0 and 12-4 to close the first period strong and led 41-35 at the break.

Fullerton’s Josh Akognon set the Sheriff record for points (41) in CSUF’s last trip to the islands two years ago.

This time Orane Chin led CSUF with a game-high 27 points on 9-for-16 shooting, but no other Titan had more than 10.

"Blackout" tomorrow

UH is encouraging fans attending UH’s ESPN-televised game against Central Michigan at 11 p.m. to wear black shirts as part of a "Blackout" promotion.

Also, the first 800 fans at Gate A will receive fan flags. And the fan judged with the most creative sign using the ESPN acronym will win an interisland airline ticket.

UH Manoa students get in free with a valid ID.