It was ragged and rugged, but the Hawaii basketball team used its advantage in height and depth en route to Wednesday’s 83-66 victory over Chaminade.

A crowd of 1,445 saw the Rainbow Warriors claim the exhibition in the Stan Sheriff Center.

The UH and Chaminade campuses are a mile apart, but the distance in size was greater. The ’Bows had four players 6 feet 9 and taller available, including two 7-foot posts. The Silverswords’ tallest player, 6-8 Bill Awet, played 7 minutes, 56 seconds and managed two points.

The ’Bows amassed a rebounding advantage of 53 to 31, including 22 to seven on the offensive glass.

Zigmars Raimo, a 6-9 senior, grasped 12 rebounds — eight to extend UH possessions — while scoring 19 points on mostly layups, hooks and short jumpers. Dawson Carper, a 7-foot sophomore, contributed 14 rebounds.

>> Photo Gallery: Men’s basketball: UH vs. Chaminade

“We knew it was going to be a challenge (with their size),” Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird said. “We knew that. We tried to game plan to double-team them as much as possible if they did get catches in the post. But what really killed us was our defensive rebounding. They could just kind of stand and reach over the top of us and grab offensive rebounds.”

The ’Bows certainly provided the Silverswords with rebounding opportunities. They missed 10 of their first 11 shots from behind the 3-point arc, and finished six of 30 from long distance.

With a smaller lineup, the Silverswords went into attack mode, driving the lane and challenging UH’s post players. Wingman Tyler Cartaino was effective in treating the lane like an on-ramp. He scored 23 points in his first 24 minutes, including a thunderous left-handed jam, and finished with a game-high 26.

But the Silverswords’ inside approach eventually led to 26 fouls — twice as many as the ’Bows accumulated — including a flagrant violation on a box-out move during a free throw.

“If they choose to play a small lineup, they have to pay for it, too,” Raimo said. “We had 22 offensive rebounds. … We crashed the offensive boards, and they had to pay for it with the small lineup.”

The Silverswords closed to 52-51 with 13:45 to play. But then the ’Bows scored 27 of the next 39 points to widen the gap to 16 points. With 1:17 to play, UH coach Eran Ganot called timeout to allow three freshmen to finish the game.

“We had a lot of slippage,” Ganot said. “We were pretty sloppy. But in key moments, we were able to settle down and create some separation.”

Point guard Drew Buggs stabilized UH’s offense. Buggs returned to school this week after spending time in California following his mother’s death.

“It was nice to have Drew back there,” Ganot said. “He had some rust. That’s understandable. He’s got to work his way back into the flow.”

The ’Bows were able to play several combinations. One lineup featured three guards. Another had double wings with Samuta Avea and Justin Hemsley sliding between the perimeter and the post. Avea produced 18 points, including three 3s. The ’Bows were at plus-19 points when Avea was on the court.

“I thought we played better in the second half,” Avea said. “It’s crunch time now. We have to practice hard.”

The ’Bows open the season on Nov. 8 against Florida A&M in the first round of the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic.