The Hawaii basketball team can respond to its opening-night reality check in one of two ways.

Option A: The Rainbow Warriors come out against Texas State today refusing to use their diminished status as a crutch and play with an edge absent in their stunning 69-68 defeat to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Friday.

Option B: Those looks of disappointment on players’ faces endure well past this weekend’s Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic.

The Cougars may not have been any more talented than the rebuilding Rainbows, but they outdid the tournament host on key second- and third-effort plays in the second half. SIUE had 13 steals among UH’s 19 turnovers, while UH missed an agonizing series of layups and chippies.

“The bottom line was, we were disorganized,” UH coach Eran Ganot said afterward. “So that leads to some of the turnovers, and there’s a lot of indecision. An inability to get to the right spots on both ends. At times, almost a little of a fear, maybe.”

The second-year coach was adamant postgame about not using things like UH’s NCAA sanctions or the unfamiliar court brought in for the Armed Forces Classic as excuses for the performance.

“I always say we handle things right,” Ganot said. “Give (SIUE) credit. We gotta go back to work.”

UH unveiled its redone postseason banner — with the notable addition of the words “2016 – NCAA 2nd Round” — before tip-off against SIUE. But minutes later, it was difficult to square the achievement hanging overhead with the product on the court.

The ’Bows built a 12-point lead in the first half, fell behind by 11 in the second, rallied to take a one-point edge, then got edged.

Forward Jack Purchase had a costly passing turnover with a minute left, wing Noah Allen missed an open 3-pointer on a set play and point guard Sheriff Drammeh had the ball stripped driving across the lane on UH’s last gasp in the final 4.3 seconds.

“We really need to play the game the right way, the way we’re capable of playing,” mused Allen, the UCLA graduate transfer whose 21 points were 15 more than he ever put up as a Bruin. “We learned a lot, so now we’re on to the next one.”

Freshman shooting guard Leland Green picked up two quick fouls and never got going in his official debut, going scoreless. Junior forward Gibson Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds but was held down offensively.

The bench had issues, too. Frosh point guard Matt Owies scored his lone basket on a steal and layup — then was given a technical foul for saying something about it, and sat right back down. Zach Buscher and Larry Lewis Jr. were ineffective subs. It all contributed to 3-for-19 3-point shooting.

The bright spots were Allen’s aggression on drives and freshman center Ido Flaisher’s first-half play (13 points, seven boards off the bench). Drammeh looked to get to the rim and scored a career-high 17, but had four turnovers to three assists.

Texas State coach Danny Kaspar noted Allen and Drammeh could pose problems with their penetration.

Like Hawaii, Texas State (eight newcomers) had heavy offseason turnover. It was picked to finish last in the 12-team Sun Belt coming off a 15-16 season. However, the Bobcats beat Florida Atlantic 61-57 at ‘Iolani School in the opening game of the round-robin tourney Friday.

“I think this team has a chance to have a successful season,” Kaspar said. “I think we have a team that could surprise a lot of people in our league.”

Forward Kavin Gilder-Tilbury was voted a preseason third-team all-conference player and is one of four senior starters. The Bobcats are moving on from the loss of a two-time all-conference player in Emani Gant.

Gilder-Tilbury was effective in his season debut, scoring a game-high 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting (3-for-5 from 3) against the FAU Owls.

“They share the ball,” Ganot said. “They’re tough. They’re gritty. We’re going to see a lot more pressure than we saw (Friday).”

Kaspar’s won more than 500 games in his career — almost all of which came at Lone Star State schools Incarnate Word and Stephen F. Austin. He had seven 20-win seasons at the latter.

He relocated between Austin and San Antonio to take over the Sun Belt (and formerly, brief WAC) program located in San Marcos in 2013-14. He has yet to have a winning season there.

UH TIPOFF

TEXAS STATE (0-1) AT HAWAII (0-1)
Also: Florida Atlantic vs. SIU-Edwardsville, 2:30 p.m
————
WHEN: 5 p.m. today * WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center

TEXAS STATE BOBCATS (0-1)
Projected starting lineup:

WHEN TEXAS STATE HAS THE BALL
Gilder-Tilbury — or KGT as he’s known in Bobcats circles — is closing in on becoming Texas State’s 21st 1,000-point scorer. He was born in Hawaii and lived here until about first grade. The Bobcats set plenty of ball screens to free him up.

HAWAII RAINBOW WARRIORS (0-1)
Projected starting lineup:

WHEN HAWAII HAS THE BALL
Minimizing turnovers is a must coming off a disorganized, 19-giveaway performance in the opener. That starts with Drammeh, who had three assists against four turnovers. UH will look to get more in the middle out of Johnson, who was held to seven points against SIUE.

TV: OC Sports * RADIO: KKEA 1420-AM