If the lane is the paint, the University of Hawaii basketball team was turpentine on Sunday afternoon.

The Rainbow Warriors scored 42 points inside in an 85-68 victory over Northern Arizona before 3,031 in the Stan Sheriff Center.

“Most definitely, we always want to get shots inside, easy shots,” said point guard Drew Buggs, who was credited with eight of the ’Bows’ 20 assists. “That’s kind of our goal to get the best shot each possession.”

The ’Bows converted on their first 10 shots in the lane, and hit 10 of their first 14 attempts near the rim.

Zigmar Raimo, a 6-foot-7 post player, hit eight of 10 shots, many seemingly close enough for his breath to fog the backboard. Raimo finished with 17 points, and 7-foot freshman Mate Colina came off the bench to contribute four baskets, including a dunk.

“We always want to play inside, and Mate getting comfortable in there is helping,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “Zigmars is continuing to come on. Our guys are attacking the rim.”

Ganot said the inside-outside strategy is more than feeding the post players. “It means being in the post, offensive rebounding, and getting into the paint with penetration,” Ganot said.

The ’Bows constructed a 35-22 rebounding advantage, with nine coming off the offensive glass. They scored 11 second-chance points.

Buggs said the Lumberjacks often sent the post defender to double on a ball screen. “When you show up on ball screens, it’s hard to get back and guard (the low post),” Buggs said. “My job as a point guard is to come off the ball screen and make the big commit to me, and (then) pass to my teammates so they can get inside and get the best shot.”

The plan worked repeatedly against the Lumberjacks, who were playing their fourth game in eight days.

“I think Hawaii does a good job of getting the ball where they want to get it,” NAU coach Jack Murphy said.

When the Lumberjacks tried to sag their defense, that opened the way for UH’s outside shooters. Eddie Stansberry. The ’Bows’ best outside marksman, missed his first five 3s. His first basket was on a driving layup.

“I definitely had a slow start,” Stansberry said. “I know a couple of shots I got off in the beginning, they weren’t falling. My teammates fed me with confidence, and told me to keep taking those shots I normally take. I continued to do that, and they eventually fell.”

Stansberry hit three 3s in the first half, another two after the intermission, and finished with a team-high 19 points.

In the previous week’s loss to North Texas, the ’Bows struggled defensively to stop drives and cuts. They spent the past week emphasizing help defense and tracking base movements. On Sunday, the ’Bows used a 20-7 run to take a 41-25 lead into the intermission. The Lumberjacks made only one field goal in the final 8:57 of the first half.

“Our defense in the first half gave us the separation we needed,” Ganot said. “That’s the potential where we can be. Unfortunately, we haven’t found a consistency there. And we’d better fix it quick if we want to be good. If we don’t, we’ll be inconsistent.”

The ’Bows built an 18-point lead in the second half, then watched the advantage recede when the Lumberjacks attacked the low post, earning easy shots, drawing fouls, or both. But the ’Bows bounced back with revived outside shooting.

“They probably had a little juice after the last game against North Texas,” Murphy said of the ’Bows. “Being at home and preparing for us for a week, they obviously had a great scout, and they were ready to go.”