VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA » The Hawaii men’s basketball team never could get on track Saturday in hostile territory at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Up against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the BC Basketball Classic, the Rainbow Warriors were as cold as the weather outside, struggling from the field while racking up turnovers and fouls in a 73-54 loss.

The defeat drops the Rainbows’ record to 1-1.

It also came with an ejection for head coach Gib Arnold, who was forced to watch the remainder of the game from the locker room after receiving his second technical foul late in the second half.

Statistically, the Rainbows tallied 27 personal fouls compared to Gonzaga’s 11. It was a lopsided stat that Arnold was careful about discussing when asked repeatedly afterwards about his ejection.

"I thought it was a physical game," said Arnold.

"You can look at the stat line. They’re a very physical team. They play very hard and aggressive and it shocks me that a guy like Robert Sacre goes the entire game without a foul," he said of Gonzaga’s starting center.

"That was how it was called tonight."

And what about the coach’s comments that got him turfed?

"I just wanted to protect my shooters and told (the ref) so. I think it was just one of those games where the frustration built up over two teams playing hard," he said, referring to a play in the second half where Zane Johnson’s hand was slapped while in shooting motion but no foul was called.

The ejection came at a time when the Rainbows offense suddenly went stagnant, despite previously climbing back to within one point of the Bulldogs just past the midway mark of the second half.

Hawaii went 20-for-53 (38 percent) from the field.

As close as they got against the now 3-0 Bulldogs, the Rainbows just couldn’t get the shot or the play they needed to grab the lead.

Turnovers were the main reason.

Hawaii turned the ball over 23 times, compared to just 11 for the Bulldogs.

"Turnovers kill you every game," said Johnson, who went 4-for-8 from 3-point range and scored 12 points. "That’s one of the main things in this loss were turnovers. We just have to cut them down and get better from here on out."

Arnold echoed those thoughts.

"We were down one with 8 minutes to go and right there and feeling good," he said. "But obviously I felt we turned the ball over too much to keep the game close and it got away from us there in the last 5 minutes."

Shaquille Stokes led all Hawaii players with 17 points.

A force — albeit not the biggest one — all night, Stokes emerged as the Rainbows’ offensive catalyst, abrasively attacking the hoop at every opportunity.

It wasn’t enough, however, as the Rainbows eventually wore down.

"We got tired. I think fatigue kicked in a little bit," said Stokes. "On Monday, we’re just going to keep working."

Following behind Stokes was Johnson, who continued his torrid pace from beyond the 3-point line.

He put up two early in the first half, but had minimal looks after that as the Bulldogs defense shadowed him closely the rest of the way.

"They were all over me," said Johnson.

"Every time I came off the screen they were hedging me high and the guy was holding me, slapping me. It is what it is, I just have to get better from here."