In the final seconds of what would be Hawaii’s 68-60 basketball victory on Christmas morning, post player Zigmars Raimo received a pass behind Rhode Island’s full-court press, prepared to soar for a dunk and instead opted to score on a lay-in scoop.

“I tried to dunk, but my legs were way too tired,” said Raimo, who played 35 baseline-to-baseline minutes. “I couldn’t jump as high as I wanted to. I laid it in. Two points are two points.”

That play capsulized the Rainbow Warriors’ innovation in Sunday’s final round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

With their 3-point shot on the blink — they missed seven of eight from behind the arc in the second half — the ’Bows turned to a rotating man-to-man defense and feisty rebounding to go 2-1 in the tournament and improve to 8-5 overall.

“You can’t live or die by the 3,” said Ganot, whose ’Bows missed their first seven 3-point attempts. “That’s why we talked about chipping away. When we said, ‘chip away,’ it was about our defense and rebounding. And again, we’re 31-1, the last four years, I think, when we hold teams to 40 (percent) and below from the field.”

The Rams entered averaging 72.6 points with an offense that is constantly in motion. But the ’Bows were able to pump the brakes on the breaks, limiting the Rams to six fastbreak points. The Rams’ energizing point guard — Fatts Russell — was held to 4-for-16 shooting, including zip-for-six from behind the 3-point arc. He finished with 10 points before fouling out with 26.8 seconds remaining.

The Rams hit 40 percent of their shots, but only 34.4 percent after the intermission.

The ’Bows’ offense also was not in rhythm early against the Rams’ aggressive perimeter defense. The Rams built a reputation of storming the point of attack, often sending post players Jermaine Harris or Cyril Langevine toward the ball-handler or screener early in the shot clock.

With the deep shots iffy, the ’Bows relied on around-the-horn passing, patience and Raimo’s relocation moves for points. The ’Bows scored 40 points in the paint.

“It takes time,” Ganot said. “You’re going to play some of those kind of teams, and it’s not easy. You’ve got to break it down, play inside-out, continue to grind and sometimes find other ways to win. Eventually, things started to open up for us.”

UH guard Eddie Stansberry, making his third consecutive start, missed his first five 3-point attempts. But he swished his first 3 to give the ‘Bows a 52-51 lead 6:21 to play.

“My first two shots coming out were airballs,” Stansberry said. “I knew that. They were good looks. I knew I had to keep taking good shots and rolling. I couldn’t let it get to my head. My teammates were giving me the support I needed. They kept telling me to keep taking good shots, which I did. I knew eventually they would fall. I hit that big one in the second half, and that’s all that matters.”

Reserve guard Leland Green also re-set the shot clock when he grabbed a loose ball, and then fired a behind-the-back pass late in the second half. “It was just a hustle play,” Green said.

Guard Brocke Stepteau said: “That was one of the biggest plays of the game. It saved a possession and it took some time off the clock.”

Raimo, who was guarded alternately by Harris and Langevine, finished with 19 points. Point guard Drew Buggs contributed 12 points and eight rebounds. And Stepteau, coming off the bench, scored 11 points and played tough defense against Russell.

“Coach talks all the time that shots aren’t always going to fall so you’ve got to find other ways to win,” Stepteau said. “You have to rely on your defense, your rebounding, getting to the basket, whatever it takes. We’re starting to get that whatever-it-takes mentality. It’s not like, ‘oh, our 3-point shots weren’t falling, we’re going to give up.’ We found other ways to keep us in the game and get it done.”