The Hawaii men’s basketball team pulled away late to defeat Chaminade, 83-66, in a preseason exhibition tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.

A crowd of 1,445 turned out to see the Rainbow Warriors in a tune-up game a little more than a week before their Nov. 8 regular-season opener against Florida A&M. It was a competitive game between UH and its Division II neighbor most of the way.

The smaller, quicker Silverswords looked to trap the bigger, slower Rainbow Warriors, and get out in transition. It worked for a time, as they took a couple of leads in the first half, and drew within a point with under 14 minutes to go.

But UH went on a 12-2 run, with sophomore forward Justin Hemsley sinking a 3 followed by a layup, plus the foul for a double-digit lead. The margin would get no smaller than six the rest of the way.

Senior forward Zigmars Raimo scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and junior wing Samuta Avea added 18 points, carrying the load for a team that did not shoot efficiently from the field or the foul line.

Sophomore center Dawson Carper turned his 7-foot size into eight points and 14 rebounds as UH won the rebounding battle by 22.

Fifth-year coach Eran Ganot started Buggs at point guard, Eddie Stansberry at shooting guard, Avea at small forward, Raimo at power forward and Carper at center.

Forward Tyler Cartaino, a preseason All-Pacific West Conference selection, led the Silverswords with 26 points on 11-for-21 shooting.

Cartaino’s lefty tomahawk flush over Raimo earned a raucous cheer from the few dozen Silversword faithful. A 5-for-5 first half by Raimo kept UH ahead — barely — at halftime, 37-35. He finished shooting 8-for-11.

UH darted ahead to begin the second half, but Kevin Kremer’s 3-pointer and a bank shot by Kendall Small brought the Silverswords back within 52-51. Free throws by Avea and Raimo and baskets by Raimo and Hemsley allowed the Rainbows some breathing room and Ganot was eventually able to empty his bench.