A sizzling start and thrilling finish got the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team its first Western Athletic Conference victory of the season last night.

Bill Amis hit a baseline jumper with 8.1 seconds remaining to give the Rainbow Warriors a 65-64 win over Louisiana Tech.

Prior to the winning shot, the 'Bows blew a 13-point lead, and trailed by four points in the final minute.

Kareem Nitoto hit his first 3-pointer of the season to pull Hawai'i within one, then he provided the assist to Amis for the game-winner.

"Kareem had a nice drive, and I caught in rhythm," Amis said.

Nitoto also forced LaTech's Kyle Gibson to miss an off-balance shot on the final possession.

"We could have folded when we were down," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "Kareem had the confidence to take the big 3 at the end of the game."

A crowd of 3,325 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows improve to 9-5 overall and 1-1 in the WAC. LaTech dropped to 7-8 and 1-1.

Amis, a 6-foot-9 junior forward, finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Paul Campbell had his best game as a Hawai'i player with 13 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Those were career-high numbers in all three categories for the 6-10 center.

"This is the best game I've played in a long time, probably since high school," said Campbell, who shot 6 of 8 from the field.

Roderick Flemings added 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while playing all 40 minutes. Adhar Mayen also scored 13.

Starting point guard Hiram Thompson added six points and six assists.

"We got a great effort from a lot of different people," Nash said.

Due to injuries, the 'Bows relied primarily on six players — Amis, Campbell, Flemings, Mayen, Thompson and Nitoto.

Lasha Parghalava was not in uniform because of a back injury; Petras Balocka was limited to two minutes due to a groin injury.

On Saturday, Hawai'i went through a similar late-game collapse in a loss to Boise State.

"I thought our guys showed their resilience, bouncing back from a loss to Boise State," Nash said. "They didn't dwell on that loss."

Hawai'i started the game in near-perfect form.

The 'Bows made their first six shots of the game and raced to a 13-4 lead in the first four minutes. Hawai'i increased the lead to 24-11 by making 11 of its first 12 shots from the field.

"In the beginning of the game, you saw everybody touch the ball, move the ball, got wide open shots," Nash said. "Then we had a lull there."

LaTech chipped away and eventually cut the Hawai'i lead to 37-35 at halftime.

The game stayed close throughout the second half.

Hawai'i was ahead 60-53 after a tip-in by Campbell with 7:14 remaining.

A jump shot by Magnum Rolle gave LaTech its first lead of the game at 61-60 with 2:44 remaining. It was part of a stunning 11-0 run that ended with the Bulldogs ahead, 64-60, with 33.3 seconds remaining.

Nitoto's 3-pointer with 24.6 seconds remaining ended the Hawai'i drought and made the score 64-63. Prior to that shot, Nitoto was 0 for 10 from 3-point range this season.

LaTech's Gibson then missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw situation. Amis grabbed the rebound and gave it to Nitoto to set up the winning play.

The Bulldogs went 1 for 4 from the free-throw line in the final minute.

"You have to give (Hawai'i) a lot of credit," LaTech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "They didn't give up. They did what they needed to do — foul, put us on the line. We didn't knock them down, and then they made some big baskets down the stretch."

Nash said there were other keys to the victory, including Campbell's post defense and a slight adjustment by Flemings on offense.

"I thought Paul played probably the best post defense we've played here in some time," Nash said. "Fighting around a guy that outweighed him. He played angles and did a nice job."

Campbell, who weighs 215 pounds, went against LaTech's Kenneth Cooper for most of the game. Cooper, who is 6-10 and 260 pounds, finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Flemings played most of last night's game on the offensive wings, and he went 3 of 6 from 3-point range. He has been alternating between the perimeter and low-post in recent games.

"Down on the block, going against bigger, stronger guys, we didn't want to let him get beat up too much down there," Nash said. "So he operated on the wing, made good passes. Made a big assist at the end of the game. That's just what he does. He's a complete player for us."

Hawai'i finished with a 51.9 percent shooting percentage, including 65.4 percent in the first half. The 'Bows also passed for 18 assists while committing just 10 turnovers.

LaTech did win the rebounding battle, 32-27, becoming the first opponent in 13 games to out-rebound Hawai'i.

Cooper led LaTech with 14 points, while David Jackson added 11.

The 'Bows are scheduled to depart Honolulu today for their first WAC road trip of the season. Hawai'i will play at Idaho on Thursday, then at Boise State on Saturday.