Hawaii closed out Auburn in emphatic fashion, 79-67, to take third place in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic today at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Warriors got a second straight 30-point game from point guard Roderick Bobbitt as the tournament’s host team ended the game on a 28-7 run after trailing by nine with 9:25 to go.

Bobbitt shot 8-for-13 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Forward Stefan Jankovic added 21 points and eight rebounds.

It was the second straight year UH (9-2) finished the DHC in third. The Rainbows won on Christmas Day for the third straight year and improved to 5-2 on Dec. 25 in seven years of the tourney.

Auburn of the SEC dropped to 6-5.

UH committed nine first-half turnovers but just two after the break, but Auburn guards Kareem Canty and Bryce Brown combined for 42 points and shot their team back in it.

UH gave up a layup to Canty to open the second half, but then forward Mike Thomas drove baseline for an emphatic two-handed flush in traffic, kicking off a 11-0 run. Bobbitt hit three straight baskets during the spurt, including two 3-pointers, for a 39-32 lead.

Auburn countered with three straight perimeter jumpers to get back within 42-41 with 13:39 to play.

Horace Spencer rejected a UH lob to Thomas and ripped down the ball with two hands in one impressive motion. Brown followed it up with a 3 for a 44-42 Tigers lead.

The Tigers kept it going after Spencer’s momentum-turning play, claiming a 60-51 lead when Canty beat the shot clock on a contested 3 with 9:25 to go.

Sai Tummala cut it to 60-55 with a four-point play with 9:15 to play, kicking off an 18-3 UH run. Bobbitt hit the go-ahead free throws with 6:14 to go.

AU coach Bruce Pearl was upset with several calls over that stretch, earning a technical with 5:29 left.

UH claimed an early eight-point lead, but fell into a lull as the Tigers used a 10-0 run to take their first advantage at 18-16. UH opted to go big for a long stretch with a lineup of dual Stefans, Jankovic and Jovanovic.

The Rainbows drew even again late in the half. Isaac Fleming had a chance to give UH the lead going into the break when he was fouled in the open court with 0.6 seconds to play, but he had two free throws rim out and Auburn led 30-29 at halftime.

Auburn freshman Bryce Brown entered the starting lineup for T.J. Dunans, who injured a knee in the Tigers’ semifinal loss to Harvard. Brown hit four first-half 3s and his 14 points in the period was one off his season high.

BYU beat Northern Iowa 84-76 in the fifth-place game, while Washington State salvaged a win in the tournament with an 82-59 rout of New Mexico for seventh.