WAILUKU » Two giving teams blessed Maui with a holiday feast of uglyball, and the Valley Isle ate it up.

Hawaii survived a ragged contest with North Carolina A&T in large part by riding an energetic War Memorial Gym crowd to a late lead and holding on tight for a 65-57 win on Sunday night.

The Rainbow Warriors and Aggies both shot under 40 percent and committed 22 turnovers apiece. It didn’t matter to the 1,412 vocal spectators, who cheered the ‘Bows to a three-game winning streak.

"I want to thank the fans of Maui. We’re definitely coming back; that was a lot of fun," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "Good atmosphere, I could barely hear myself in some of the huddles. They helped us out, and that feels good. Appreciate it from some fans who normally don’t get to see us.

"It wasn’t the prettiest of all games, but they got to see their team and I thought we played pretty hard."

UH (5-4) flew back to Oahu after the game tired but satisfied with the two-game interisland swing going into the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic starting Thursday.

Freshman point guard Shaquille Stokes scored 15 of his 19 points after halftime, including two big 3-pointers to regain the lead by the 11-minute mark. Junior center Vander Joaquim added 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting with a game-high seven rebounds, and senior guard Zane Johnson added 13 points despite a 2-for-10 night from the field.

Though the hoops display was far from sublime, the Rainbows were supported through their ups and downs. The Maui High School band kept things piped up and hundreds of fans lined up for player autographs after the game.

But crowd or no crowd (as seen in the preceding game vs. Hawaii-Hilo in Kailua-Kona) it came down to who could out-ugly whom, and the ‘Bows proved the grittiest.

Stokes embraced the spirit of the game by going 5-for-16 from the field with five turnovers, and still coming up with the key plays to help UH prevail.

He twice hit 3s to regain the lead for UH, the second time for good with 11:10 left.

However, A&T (4-8) would come within a point with 8:17 left. That’s when Stokes and UH rode the crowd home with a 12-0 run. Arnold also credited backup point guard Bobby Miles for wearing down A&T point guard Marc Hill. It added up to a UH win on Maui for the second straight year; the ‘Bows beat Chicago State at the Lahaina Civic Center last December.

"The environment was great, the fans was loud, cheering," Stokes said. "We appreciate them for coming."

The never-say-die Aggies of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference sank two 3-pointers in the final minute to make the final margin more respectable.

After running off numerous screens fighting through A&T’s pack-it-in defense, Johnson was clearly worn down by the end of a long weekend. He arrived late for the Hilo game on Friday because of final exams and flew back to Oahu on Saturday for his graduation ceremony. Perhaps for similar reasons, senior point guard Miah Ostrowski was held to spot minutes.

"My energy level was pretty good at the beginning, running off adrenaline more than anything, I think," Johnson said while he signed autographs. "I’m dead tired now. I’m glad the weekend is over. … It’s over now, so all I gotta do is focus on basketball."

He managed to convert all seven of his free throws, extending his streak at the line to 25. He is three short of tying Reggie Carter’s record 28 straight in 1975-76.

For much of the game, UH struggled to control the ball against the smaller but more athletic Aggies. Luckily for UH, A&T was in an equally giving mood as the team from Greensboro, N.C., lost its fifth straight game.

Playing uglyball was nothing new to A&T coach Jerry Eaves. Senior guard Hill led A&T with 17 points, albeit on 6-for-15 shooting.

"Hard-fought game," Eaves said. "They made big shots at the right time … hat’s off to Hawaii, they did a tremendous job."

Arnold in turn commended the Aggies for repeatedly coming back. The visitors are in the midst of a six-game cross-country road trip and were without injured top scorer Nic Simpson and his would-be starting replacement, Jared Williams.

A&T scored the first three baskets of the second half to make up a five-point halftime deficit. The Rainbows came back to hold a tentative advantage, only to see the Aggies go up 40-39 on a Hill basket and 43-42 on a Jean Louisme 3-pointer. Stokes answered both times.

UH coach Gib Arnold reverted to a starting lineup of Stokes, Johnson, Trevor Wiseman, Joston Thomas and Joaquim.

UH got the crowd energized with a Stokes lob to Thomas midway through the first half. Thomas couldn’t control the high pass, though, and flipped it in midair to Joaquim, who flushed it for a 22-13 lead.

A&T forced turnovers to claw in the game, and UH led 35-30 at halftime when Stokes fed Davis Rozitis for a dunk to beat the buzzer.