A first-half 3-for-all carried the Hawaii basketball team to a comfortable victory in its nonconference finale.

The Rainbow Warriors turned to the 3-ball to solve Delaware State’s 2-3 zone and cruised to a 77-66 win in front of a “White-out” crowd of 3,314 on Thursday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Nine of UH’s 10 hits from long range came in the first half to help build a 14-point lead at intermission.

“When you get hot like that against a zone, just keep putting them up,” said forward Jack Purchase, who tied his career high of 21 points. UH hit five of its first eight from deep.

When the Hornets went man and started closing out in the second half, the ’Bows worked the ball inside effectively to maintain their lead.

UH wrapped up nonconference play at 6-7 and readies for its first road trip of the season next week, to Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine for the launch of Big West play. It had already clinched its first losing record going into conference play since the 2007-08 season, but two wins in a row matched the team’s season high.

“We got a little bit of momentum going into conference play,” guard Sheriff Drammeh said. “A little confidence.”

UH shot below 40 percent in six of its previous seven games, including two under 30. But there’s nothing like some MEAC opposition to cure what ails you. The ’Bows improved to 15-0 all-time against schools in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Purchase shot 5-for-11 on 3s with a season-best eight rebounds. Freshman Leland Green fouled out with season highs of 11 points and three 3s, and Drammeh reached double-figure scoring (12 points) for the first time in eight games. UH went 10-for-28 (35.7 percent) beyond the arc for the game, accounting for more than half of its total field-goal attempts and within five of the program record for 3s attempted.

“We shot it well, which was a key,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “Something we’ve focused on getting better at. … It was fun to watch the way we shared the ball inside and out.”

UH went 9-for-20 from downtown before halftime, with all the makes by Purchase, Green and Drammeh. Purchase, in particular, sprung loose repeatedly for open looks from the corners and wings.

Green, an 18.5 percent 3-point shooter entering the night, went 3-for-6 from long range.

“It’s always nice to bank a 3 to start the game to get you going,” Ganot said with a grin.

Purchase got the second half started with a 3. It would be UH’s last of the game, but it was enough as UH bridged the halves with a 14-0 run.

“We shot 20 3s in the first half, so of course there was an emphasis to take it to the rim,” Drammeh said. “Unfortunately we didn’t shoot it as well from 3 in the second half (1-for-8), so definitely we had to take it to the rim.

DSU (3-12) cut a 20-point lead to 12 with 2:24 left and got no closer until a 3 in the final seconds by Devin Morgan.

“We have to give them credit — they moved the ball, passed it well and were very efficient on the offensive end,” DSU coach Keith Walker said. “I was really impressed with how they shot the ball, especially No. 12 (Purchase). … Overall they did a very, very good job being patient, looking for what they needed to offensively.”

UH scoring leader Noah Allen came off the bench for the second straight game. He went 0-for-5 from the field, but finished with four points, four assists and three steals. He passed up a late chance at his first points to feed Purchase, who scored a layup to tie his season high.

The team from the First State traveled to the 50th for the second time in three years. It was the 12th true road game of the season for DSU. Morgan had a game-high 26 points on 9-for-13 shooting, while DeAndre Haywood added 16.

DSU was without its top rebounder, forward DeVaughn Mallory, who missed the trip because of an illness in the family. It clearly hurt the Hornets, who were punished on the glass 35-21 and faced a 19-1 disadvantage in second-chance points.

HAWAII 77, DELAWARE STATE 66

HORNETS (3-12)

RAINBOW WARRIORS (6-7)

Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; fta: free throws made-attempted; r: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.

Halftime — Hawaii 41, Delaware State 27 3-point goals — Delaware State 8-20 (Morgan 4-6, Haywood 3-6, Waller 1-5, Raysor 0-1, Tavakalyn 0-2). Hawaii 10-28 (Purchase 5-11, Green 3-6, Drammeh 2-6, Lewis Jr. 0-1, Stepteau 0-1, Allen 0-3).

Steals — Delaware State 5 (Morgan 2, Gantz , Gasevic, Haywood). Hawaii 8 (Allen 3, Flaisher 2, Drammeh, Green, Stepteau).

Blocked shots — Delaware State none. Hawaii 1 (Purchase). Turnovers — Delaware State 15 (Morgan 4, Gasevic 3, Haywood 3, Lewis 2, Tavakalyn 2, Gantz). Hawaii16 (Purchase 3, Stepteau 3, Allen 2, Drammeh2, Team 2, Green, Johnson, Flaisher,Raimo). Technical fouls — None. Officials– Martin Cichocki, Brady Chelette, Donn Berdahl. A — 3,314.