Trevor Wiseman just kept playing.

The quiet Hawaii sophomore forward looked to be a side story all night. There was the return of forward Joston Thomas to UH’s starting lineup. Then there was a career-high assist effort by point guard Shaquille Stokes. But Wiseman made the late plays that kept the Rainbow Warriors afloat in a 75-70 defeat of Pacific on Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Wiseman had a key steal and layup with 32 seconds left to put UH (2-2) up 70-67, but Pacific (2-2) tied the game on a Trevin Harris 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds left.

Hawaii’s hustle king wasn’t done. When Stokes missed a pull-up top-arc 3-pointer, Wiseman tipped the offensive rebound to teammate Garrett Jefferson, who had the go-ahead three-point play with 3.1 seconds on the clock.

"Coach asks me to hustle, so that’s what I’m trying to do. The ball doesn’t go to me all the time, but any time I can get it, I’m getting my hands on it," said Wiseman, who notched his second double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in two UH wins this season.

It was Jefferson’s first field goal as a Rainbow Warrior. Once Pacific turned the ball over on a fullcourt heave with 1.8 seconds left, senior guard Zane Johnson iced the game with two free throws.

"It’s fun, it’s exciting. That’s the best first basket I could have, I guess," Jefferson said.

A crowd of about 4,500 witnessed a rivalry preview for once UH joins the Big West Conference next season.

"That was a team that could have beaten us; we could have folded, and we didn’t. I’m proud of these guys," UH coach Gib Arnold said.

It featured several other highlights for the home team, though UH was never able to pull away. The true freshman Stokes had 10 assists against one turnover, helping the ‘Bows to a season-low 11 giveaways. Several of Stokes’ dimes were on lobs to Thomas, who shot 7-for-9 before fouling out with 14 points on a questionable call with 4:33 to play.

Johnson scored a team-high 21 points, but his first points of the second half came on two free throws with 1:32 left. He went 0-for-8 from the field in the period and 4-for-17 for the game.

His last miss from the field seemed corralled by the Tigers, but Jordan Turner lost his balance for a moment, and there was Wiseman, ready to scoop up the loose ball for a layup for a big three-point lead.

"That’s kind of why we keep him around," Arnold said. "Guy ends up having a 10-and-10 night and I don’t even remember it."

Wiseman helped negate UH’s offensive struggles (40.3 percent shooting) with four assists, three steals and a 6-for-6 effort at the free-throw line.

After UH struggled offensively at times and gave up 56 points in the second half of an 89-72 loss to Eastern Washington on Tuesday, the win was a relief for UH before it heads on a two-game road swing, including to Pacific on Dec. 6.

UH protected a narrow lead for most of the second half, though it got up by nine several times. Pacific charged back with a 7-0 run, pulling to within 63-61 on a Markus Duran 3-pointer with 4 minutes left. It was a nail-biter from there.

Pacific’s top scorer, Duran went out with his third foul with 9:50 to play in the first half. He never got untracked, finishing with five points. But point guard Lorenzo McCloud picked up the slack for the Tigers with 23 points and four assists.

In recent years, the Tigers have been one of the better teams in the Big West, though that honor likely belongs to Long Beach State this season.

The teams will see each other much more often starting next season, when UH joins the BWC.

Pacific coach Bob Thomason entered the game tied with Jerry Tarkanian for the most wins at a BWC school at 405. He threw 12 different players at the ‘Bows in attempting to break the record.

"It came down to one play," Thomason said. "We had the ball down one, and lost it, gave them a layup."

Pacific jumped out to an 8-2 lead, but UH rallied to take its first lead at 17-16. The ‘Bows enjoyed their largest lead at 33-25, but the Tigers closed the half on an 8-3 run and UH led only 36-33 at the break.

Johnson scored UH’s final 11 points of the first half and had 17 points in the period.

HAWAII 75, PACIFIC 70