The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors can still weather the storm.

New coach Eran Ganot saw his team go down 22 points to Division II neighbor Chaminade in the first half, but UH rallied and prevailed 101-96 in overtime in a Thursday night exhibition at the Stan Sheriff Center.

It didn’t feel like a typical preseason game. Six players fouled out in a physical battle between two perimeter-oriented teams separated by just a few miles.

"It was a lot of fun to play," said swingman Aaron Valdes, who poured in 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. "Down early it was tough, but it shows a lot about of our team."

UH, tentative early but full of swagger late, scored 10 of the first 12 points in the extra period and held on at the free-throw line.

Several players piled up massive stat lines. Point guard Roderick Bobbitt had 21 points and 15 assists — the latter would’ve been a career best had the result actually counted. Guard Quincy Smith had 15 points, six rebounds and six assists and redshirt freshman Brocke Stepteau scored all of his 15 points after halftime.

Last year, UH was praised for its resiliency in the face of the preseason firing of its coach and the subsequent 22-13 record put together under interim coach Benjy Taylor.

Ganot was hired to lead the program in April. The unofficial start to the new era was a little rough, as UH struggled to score in its new four-out offense and the Silverswords rained down four 3s during a 31-6 run to go up 40-18.

"It created some situations that were good for us," Ganot said. Obviously we had to handle some situations early. … To (the players’) credit, they adjusted very well. We can’t get down 20. I want to give credit to Chaminade. … They came out ready to roll and put us in the position we were in."

The Rainbows went on a 20-1 run bridging the halves to get back in it. The hosts found the touch from long range after the break, going 7-for-15 from that point. Stepteau in particular caught fire, burying four.

"My team just told me to stay ready," Stepteau said. "When we cut down the lead right before halftime we knew we could come all the way back."

The Rainbows were without two projected starters. Forward Mike Thomas was out with a strained meniscus. Guard Isaac Fleming sat on the end of the bench after missing more than a week of recent practices while on a personal leave.

Both teams open the regular season on Nov. 13. Chaminade, which is no stranger to playing Division I teams, had six players score in double figures.

"The effort was great. I’m proud of our guys for coming in here and competing," Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird said. "We’re the type of team we have to be ready to battle against Division I opponents having the Maui Invitational coming up. We try to instill into them don’t back down from anybody. We’re gonna compete and we’re gonna execute the stuff we’ve been practicing and let the game fall from there."

UH, because of foul trouble and Chaminade’s small-ball roster, had to go with some unconventional lineups, with the 6-foot-5 Valdes playing center. UH narrowly averted its first exhibition loss since 2002.

A wild final few minutes of regulation saw UH rally, then go ahead on Stepteau’s third 3-pointer of the period with 1:10 to play.

CU’s Sam Daly (18 points) tied it up with about six seconds to play on a reverse layup, and Smith was off on a corner 3 at the other end.