There's a first time for everything.

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In a first-time meeting, the University of Hawaiʻi Men's Basketball team successfully soared past the Niagara Purple Eagles, 92-73, and improved to 2-0 in 2023-24 at the Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday.

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Four different Rainbow Warriors exceeded 10 points with Noel Coleman leading the way at 21 points and two rebounds. Coleman was followed by 14 from JoVon McClanahan and Bernardo da Silva apiece; Justin McKoy earned a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

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Braxton Bayless led the way for the Purple Eagles at 20 points and two rebounds on 7-of-10 shooting. Kwane Marble II was next at 11 points and five rebounds.

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Ahmad Henderson II of Niagara drew first blood, but that lead only lasted 10 seconds. Hawaiʻi would burst out of the gate themselves by scoring 20 of the next 22 points. The 'Bows did not look back from that point on.

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Niagara made some runs and cut the gap to nine points, but that was the closest they could get. Hawaiʻi still shot the ball solidly throughout the first half, missing only eight times. They shot 65% (15-23) from the field and 60% (6-10) from 3-point range; UH ended the first half up, 48-38.

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"Offensively, we're just flowing," McClanahan said.

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Hawaiʻi continued to answer efficiently on offense and defense going into the second half. In the first four minutes, the 'Bows scored 10 of the first 16 points; they did not let the gap get under 10 points after the first 1:15 of that second half.

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The 'Bows would extend their lead to over 20 points thanks to some key triples from McClanahan and McKoy. They were not threatened after that.

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"It was definitely a great challenge for us, a good experience, and to get us ready for conference," Coleman said of this last-minute addition of Niagara to the schedule.

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UH will return to the Stan Sheriff Center on Tuesday, Nov. 21 against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at 8:30 p.m. HST in the hopes of a 3-0 start in 2023-24.