The University of Hawaii men's basketball team was back in the gym practicing less than 24 hours after knocking off No. 16 New Mexico, 75-62, before a rocking crowd of 7,197 at the Special Events Arena Saturday night.

Despite the big victory in their WAC opener, a potentially dangerous initial road trip looms for the 9-2 Rainbows as they head to Air Force and UNLV this week.

"But things are different already with this team," head coach Riley Wallace said yesterday afternoon. "We had a workout today, which normally would have been a day off.

"And even the guys who played a lot (Saturday) did some extra running. This team is better conditioned than some of the past ones, so even though we run more (on offense), being in better shape should help."

Saturday's upset was impressive and should open some eyes around the league.

The Rainbows' man-to-man defense shut down New Mexico's attack early and often as the Lobos finished at a 36-percent clip from the floor (22-61) - including a 4-for-16 run to open the game.

Even when the Lobos made a second-half move, getting within five, the Rainbows kept their poise.

They also got some help from the bench - especially Michael Robinson, who scored six straight points midway through the second half after subbing for Eric Ambrozich, who had just picked up his third foul.

"Mike did a good job for us," Wallace said. "And he was back working real hard in practice today."

"We stepped it up on defense and really pressured the wings," said Alika Smith, who celebrated his 20th birthday yesterday. "They're a tough team and I'm sure they'll bounce back. But it was a good win for us.

"And it was an early birthday present for me."

Anthony Carter led the Rainbows with 19 points, including some big jumpers.

"He's been working real hard on his outside shot," Wallace said. "I think some of the criticism after the Maryland game fired him up."

"Our bench came out and gave us a big spark," Carter said, sharing the glory. "And we played good defense and worked hard the whole game."

Then he couldn't resist a grin.

"And don't worry, we're not going to let winning go to our head."

Wallace said it was an important victory and hopes it carries over to the rest of the schedule.

"It proves that what we're trying to do is no fluke," he said. "The last four games really helped the players believe in themselves.

"Even against Northwestern, we had to be ready to play. Then we played a ranked team in Maryland and didn't play that well, but we came back with a good win over an athletic team like Memphis. Those games showed that we have to play hard for 40 minutes."

Again, Wallace said that this season is already different than the past few, when outside jump shots - and less teamwork - were common.

"They work hard in the classroom and it carries over to the court," he said. "We're coming off one of our best semesters academically, although a few guys still have to do better."

Yet, Air Force (4-6) awaits in the thin mountain air of Colorado Springs on Thursday. The Falcons lost at SMU, 74-65, Saturday.

"Air Force is fundamentally sound and disciplined," Wallace said. "Again, I'm hoping that this team is different, since we don't live and die by the outside shot.

"But we depend on the transition game for a large part of our offense - and that can come up and kick you in the teeth sometimes."

The Lobos, who fell to 11-2, were in a foul mood after the game as they hustled to catch a red-eye flight back to the mainland after being in Honolulu for six days.

"They didn't catch us by surprise," growled sophomore center Kenny Thomas, who scored a game-high 23 points, but was sluggish in the first half. "They just played harder than we did."

Did New Mexico get here too early - and find too many distractions?

"Hey, all it did was rain the whole time," said guard Charles Smith, who was held to 13 points. "That's all we could do was sit around and concentrate on the game."