The opening was not an art show, certainly not aesthetic enough to tape the box score to the refrigerator door, but the Hawaii basketball team made enough of an impression in a 65-52 victory over Florida A&M.

A crowd of 3,481 saw the Rainbow Warriors overcome misplaced shots and the second-half blahs to prevail in the first round of the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic. The ’Bows face South Dakota, a 72-62 winner over Pacific, in Sunday’s second round.

“It was very ragged,” said Chris Gerlufsen, who served as the ’Bows’ acting head coach. “That’s not Hawaii basketball.”

But, he added, “I’m never going to give a win back.”

>> Click here to see photos of the game between Hawaii and Florida A&M.

A tough offseason spilled over into opening night. Junior Madut did not receive eligibility clearance from the NCAA swiftly enough, delaying his UH enrollment until January. Ahmed Ali, a transfer from Washington State, had to withdraw from UH because of a medical condition. Three weeks ago, point guard Drew Buggs’ mother died. Owen Hulland, a 7-foot post, is out indefinitely because of an ankle injury. Justin Webster, a freshman who can play three positions including point guard, was unavailable on Friday night because of an ankle issue. And head coach Eran Ganot announced on Wednesday he was taking a temporary medical leave of absence because of an undisclosed condition.

That turned the leadership to Gerlufsen, who was hired during the Labor Day weekend as the replacement for Adam Jacobsen. Jacobsen resigned as associate head coach to accept a job at Cal Baptist. Gerlufsen, who has 22 years of coaching experience, is the ’Bows’ offensive coordinator. Gerlufsen and the other coaches constructed an opening lineup that is supposed to have the most production potential.

But the ’Bows struggled with their accuracy in the first half, hitting 11 of 36 field-goal attempts, including three of 15 from behind the new 3-point arc. Eddie Stansberry, who was part of the ’Bows’ record-setting, 3-point shooting last season, could not find his mark. Stanberry missed his first seven 3s, and finished 1-for-9 from that distance.

But Stansberry and his teammates found other ways to fluster the visiting Rattlers. Two FAMU starters — 6-foot-9, 300-pound Evans Desir and guard Kamron Reaves — picked up their third fouls in the first half. The Rattlers, already thin without injured Ifeanyi Umezurike and Jamir Williams, struggled to hit shots or secure caroms. In the first half, the Rattlers were outscored 32-12 and outrebounded 30-18.

The ’Bows also received surprising boosts. Samuta Avea, a junior, unveiled his new shooting range. He made only four field goals, but three were 3-point shots. He finished with 15 points and was a rebound short of his first career double-double.

“I mean, my job’s easy,” Avea said. “This dude (point guard Drew Buggs) gets me wide open. Some of them, if I don’t shoot them, I look kind of crazy. So all credit to this dude, best point guard on the West Coast.”

Kameron Ng, a walk-on freshman from St. Francis, found his way into the guard rotation because of Webster’s unavailability. Ng’s first collegiate shot was a 3-point swish. He also steered the ’Bows’ modified read-and-attack offense, sometimes as the point guard, sometimes in tandem with Buggs.

And Bernardo da Silva, a 6-foot-9 freshman with a 7-foot-2 wing span, was everywhere the Rattlers did not want him to be. He blocked two shots, turned the lane into a dead end, and started a fast break with a steal. “My teammates helped me out,” da Silva said.

Gerlufsen said: “Bernardo showed flashes of what he can be. We’ll keep throwing him in the fire. The only way he’s going to get good is by getting game reps.”