On a night when the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team shot up Fresno State, it was altogether fitting that a guy named Dillinger was charged with having the smoking gun.

That would be guard Jared Dillinger who had a couple of the most telling long-range baskets as the Rainbow Warriors shot the Bulldogs full of 3-point holes in a 75-62 victory.

A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 5,447 that came to salute three UH Western Athletic Conference titlists — football, soccer and women's volleyball — on a "Night of Champions" witnessed a marksman-like 3-point performance for good measure. The 9-of-18 showing — 7 of 11 in the telltale second half — added up to perhaps the 'Bows best 3-point effort of the 7-10 season.

And not a moment too soon, either for a team that had been ranked at the bottom of the nine-school WAC and 243rd in the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage (.326).

Not that a first half, in which UH was 2 of 7 from 3-point range inspired thoughts of a sudden turnaround, either.

But the 'Bows came out blazing in the second half to run away from a 29-23 halftime edge and run their conference record to a credible 3-2, led by Dillinger who made good on 6 of 9 shots, including 3 of 5 3-pointers for a team-high 15 points.

"They made things happen," Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland said.

And they made it happen in a hurry. Matt Gibson, who was scoreless in the first half, hit a 3-pointer for a 34-27 lead and the 'Bows took it from there. At one point UH had four consecutive 3-point baskets on the way to a 50-38 lead.

"We figured we'd continued to do what we'd been doing and that's changing defenses, but then, all of a sudden, they knock down some 3s and ..." Cleveland said.

When it looked like the Bulldogs might edge back into it, Dillinger declared otherwise. He hit four consecutive baskets, two of them 3-pointers, for a 61-51 lead to seal UH's second victory in a row. "A couple of them, by Dillinger, were coming off hard cuts and (he) just knocked them down," Cleveland said.

"Even though (Bobby) Nash hit two big 3s, I thought Dillinger's 3s were the ones that really broke our back," Cleveland acknowledged.

The question now is whether the 'Bows can continue to approximate that kind of 3-point accuracy as they hit the road on their Idaho swing.

"If they shoot it like that," Cleveland said, "then they are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the league."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.