Vander Joaquim had a mighty second half to remember Saturday for the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team.

And a foul-prone first half to forget.

Somewhere in between in a 74-69 loss to Nevada-Las Vegas on Saturday was the player the Rainbow Warriors need at center to be successful in the Western Athletic Conference season that opens this week.

Having their most potent big man on the bench cooling his size-extra-wide heels in foul trouble for 16 of the 20 first-half minutes was too much of a luxury for the ‘Bows to afford in a close-but-not-quite loss to the 19th-ranked Rebels.

Joaquim finished with 15 points — all in the second half — and six rebounds on a day in which the Warriors and a Stan Sheriff Center crowd of about 5,000 had even bigger plans for him — and themselves. The 6-foot, 10-inch, 245-pound Joaquim was to have been the powerful focal point of the ‘Bows’ offense against UNLV, a potential difference-maker for a second consecutive upset of a nationally ranked opponent.

At least that was the scheme going in. "I thought (having Joaquim) was one of the advantages that we had," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "I thought we were better at the center position, the low post, and our game plan actually was to pound it, pound it (and) pound it some more."

But that blueprint went back on the shelf about the time that Joaquim went to the bench just 3 minutes, 45 seconds into the game with a third personal foul. Too bad, too, because the ‘Bows had their chances in a game in which UNLV made good on just eight of its first 25 shots and the Rebels’ starting center, Brice Massamba, played just 4 first-half minutes.

Joaquim’s exit "was huge," said UNLV coach Dave Rice. "He’s a solid post player."

Arnold said, "The kid (Joaquim) played 4 minutes out of the first 20 and when you don’t have that inside-outside attack and they are denying every pass, it pushes you further out and you can’t soften them up because it is not going inside as much," Arnold said. "I thought (the absence of Joaquim) was a tough one for us. I would have liked to have seen him play his normal minutes. But he came back and played strong that second half and got us back into it."

Indeed, Joaquim gave a graphic illustration of what UH had been missing when he scored five of the ‘Bows’ first seven second-half points, going over UNLV backup center Quintrell Thomas to do it.

"It was about me playing hard for the team," Joaquim said.

The ‘Bows just needed more than the season-low 23 minutes they got.

Joaquim has come a decent way from last season in which he was regularly in foul trouble as a sophomore junior college transfer. But finding a balance of the aggressiveness and feistiness the ‘Bows prize and the cool-headedness to avoid frustration fouls is an ongoing process.

Indeed, the ‘Bows can live with the fouls he picks up rejecting shots and denying a path to the basket. What they can’t afford are the ticky-tack and emotional ones he picks up along the way.

"It is not the same without him out there," Arnold said.

That is a lesson learned the hard way, and one the ‘Bows take with them into the WAC.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.