The Hawaii basketball team overcame a slow start to beat Cal Poly 86-73 tonight, taking their Big West Conference season opener for the first time in three years.

A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,319 saw UH make 34 of 42 free throws (81 percent) and improve to 12-2 overall on the season with their fourth straight victory.

Point guard Roderick Bobbitt led UH with 21 points, including a 12-for-14 effort at the line. Wing Aaron Valdes scored 20, going 9-for-10 at the stripe, and forward Stefan Jankovic had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Isaac Fleming scored 12 with five assists.

The Mustangs (6-8, 0-1) were Hawaii’s opening league opponent for the third time in four Big West seasons, and for the third time in a row.

The teams were tied at halftime, and after falling behind by a basket to start the second half, the Rainbows battled back.

Jankovic stepped into a 3 to match UH’s biggest lead to that point, 48-42.

The Rainbows scored on five straight possessions to go up double digits for the first time, 61-51, on a mismatch basket inside by Stefan Jovanovic with 11:58 to play.

Cal Poly guard Reese Morgan (team-high 17 points) narrowed the gap to five with a 3-pointer, steal and layup with under nine minutes to go.

Taylor Sutlive followed it up with a 3 in transition to narrow the gap to 66-64 with 6:50 to play.

UH built the lead back up behind Fleming, who knifed in for a layup and made an extra pass to Aaron Valdes for an open 3 on the next possession for a 75-66 advantage. Cal Poly called for time with 4:10 to go.

Cal Poly freshman Jaylen Shead hit an open 3 to cut it to 77-71 with 1:40 remaining.

The Mustangs went to fouling to extend the game and Bobbitt made five of six free throws to extend it back to 81-71, followed by two more from Valdes. Fleming secured the final margin with a fadeaway corner 3 as time was expiring.

Cal Poly gave the Rainbows fits with their disciplined approach early, roaring to a 14-5 start. The ‘Bows climbed back into it behind Fleming’s playmaking off the bench and some stellar baskets by Jankovic.

Jankovic got a running start and finished over Brian Bennett to cap an 11-2 run for UH’s biggest lead of the period, 35-29.

Reese Morgan hit a deep 3 to quiet the crowd.

The officiating crew earned the ire of the Sheriff fans late in the half when they called Valdes for consecutive offensive fouls. Valdes hit the deck on both plays while getting tangled up with Cal Poly players, and he went back to the UH bench with three personals.

Quincy Smith tied it up at 37 on a feed from Fleming to beat the halftime buzzer. The crowd booed the officials as they checked the monitor to count the shot, then as they left the court for the officials locker room at halftime.