The Hawaii men’s basketball team couldn’t buy a free throw all night — except when it mattered most.

The Rainbow Warriors improved to 2-0 under acting head coach Benjy Taylor by converting 12 of their last 13 foul shots of the game — including 9-for-9 by point guard Roderick Bobbitt — in a 72-65 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Bobbitt scored 16, dished seven assists and had three steals. Negus Webster-Chan added 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting and guard Garrett Nevels added 12. Center Stefan Jovanovic scored 10 points off the bench.

A crowd of 3,970 was on hand for a back-and-forth affair on Day 2 of the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic.

UH’s primary challenge was getting around Bakersfield’s 6-foot-9, 270-pound center Aly Ahmed. Ahmed scored 18 on 8-for-15 shooting.

A 15-0 run got UH from 44-35 down to 50-44 up. But when Jovanovic went out with his fourth foul with 10:47 to play, Ahmed went back to work and the Roadrunners went on a 7-2 spurt.

The teams alternated leads until Bobbitt converted a three-point play for a 61-57 lead with 3:35 remaining.

UH center Stefan Jovanovic stepped out for a 16-footer and a six-point lead, but Javonte Maynor came right back with a 3 with 1:11 to go.

Sophomore forward Aaron Valdes, who had a career-best 28 points on 11-for-15 shooting in Friday’s season-opening win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, was held to six points. He picked up three fouls in the first half.

The Rainbow Warriors shot 22-for-36 on free throws for the game, compared to 10-for-11 for the Bakersfield Roadrunners of the Western Athletic Conference.

UH shot just 3-for-10 at the free-throw line in the first half, compared to 7-for-7 for Bakersfield, and trailed 34-28 at the break. Ahmed had 10 points and four rebounds in the period.

Freshman forward Sammis Reyes dressed to play, unlike Friday’s game, after rejoining the team on Thursday. But the 6-foot-6 Chilean did not see action.

UH completes play in the Rainbow Classic in the annual ESPN College Hoops Tip-off Marathon midnight game at 11:59 p.m. Monday against High Point (2-0). The game will be televised on ESPN2.