The University of Hawaii basketball team held off Pepperdine 76-70 to advance to Friday night’s semifinals of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

The Rainbow Warriors had built a 20-point lead in the second half. But the Waves twice pared the deficit to four points — 60-56 and then, with 15.1 seconds to play, 74-70.

But point guard JoVon McClanahan was fouled, and his two free throws sealed tonight’s outcome. McClanahan, who finished with a career-high 17 points, hit eight of 10 free throws in the second half.

In improving to 7-3, the ’Bows will meet Washington State on Friday night. Tip-off is listed at 7:05 p.m.

Noel Coleman and Kamaka Hepa combined to score all but eight of the ”Bows’ first half points as the tournament hosts took a 38-24 lead into the intermission.

In UH’s first nine games, Coleman and Hepa have found success on separate nights. But in the opening round, each scored 13 points in the first seven minutes. Coleman, who played the point and off guard, had 17 first-half points on 7-for-9 shooting. In a creative sequence, Coleman was prepared to launch a shot against 6-11 Jevon Porter. Instead, Coleman re-calibrated his intent, drove the lane and hit a basket.

Hepa hit four of his first five shots, including all three from behind the arc. Coleman and Hepa each made three 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.