There is no rest for Hawaii's weary guards, and no relief in sight.

The Rainbow Warriors leave for San Jose, Calif., today with the knowledge that Hiram Thompson and Jeremy Lay will continue to log extreme minutes as the only two regular-rotation backcourt players available.

UH (9-11, 2-5 Western Athletic Conference) will have the same personnel as it tries to recover from two close home losses to New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech last week. Coach Bob Nash yesterday ruled out a return for guard Dwain Williams on the two-game road trip, starting Thursday at San Jose State (11-8, 4-3), because the guard has missed nearly two weeks of practice time and three games while dealing with the death of his cousin.

“;If you haven't been on the floor in two weeks, or a week and a half now, I can't see why I'm going to take a guy in that situation and put him in that situation where he doesn't know all the ins and outs of what we do,”; Nash said. “;We have guys who've been in here practicing every single day, and so we gotta utilize those guys.

“;I think (Dwain) gets back today, he'll stay here and condition and work out and when we get back for the next homestand (Fresno State on Feb. 6) we'll see where he fits in with what we're trying to do, and go from that point on.”;

Lay played all but 3 of 120 possible minutes of the last three games, while Thompson has gone all but 6. They shot a combined 3-for-19 in a tough 65-60 loss to Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

Both guards acknowledged that the occasional in-game breather would do them good, but were also determined to soldier on.

Thompson, in particular, has battled a sore foot over that span, and is grateful for rest whenever he can take some. But he knows his importance to the team's offense as the primary playmaker.

“;I just got a couple of bruises there right now that I'll get over,”; the junior point guard and team captain said. “;But physically, I feel fine. I like playing that many minutes. Of course I'll probably need some breaks here and there, but right now just trying to do what I need to do to win. Whatever the coaches ask, (is) what I'm going to do.”;

As teams have ratcheted up fullcourt pressure on the Rainbows in WAC play, having two ballhandlers on the court at once became a must. Lay has done an effective job of helping Thompson bring the ball upcourt and run the offense (he posted 16 assists against six turnovers during the recent three-game homestand) but he's aware he's shot poorly since his 19-point outing in a 68-67 home win over the Spartans on Jan. 17. He went a combined 4-for-25 in the losses to LaTech and NMSU to lower his overall shooting to 27.8 percent.

“;Me personally, I'm thankful for (the workload, from) not playing as much as I would have liked the beginning of the season,”; Lay said. “;I feel like I can do something with it. I haven't yet, 'cause I haven't shot the ball well, but if I can start getting into the rhythm a little bit, hopefully that'll open up the jumper.”;

Nash acknowledged the heavy load on the shoulders of Thompson and Lay, and said the Rainbows will use swingmen Roderick Flemings and Adhar Mayen—and even forward Petras Balocka—more to beat pressure and do things “;by committee”; on the road.

“;Obviously both guards are being warriors,”; Nash said. “;They're giving everything they got. ... Both of them are banged up a little bit, but those are the guys that we have, and they want to win. And so those are the best two guys we can put out there to give us a chance to win.”;

Lay pointed out that there is help, should the need arise.

“;That's the thing, I don't think there's nobody over there (on the bench),”; he said. “;I think Leroy (Lutu Jr.) should play more, 'cause he's more than capable of giving us 5, 6 minutes at a time.”;

WAC UPDATE

Six teams — Louisiana Tech (6-1), Utah State (5-2), New Mexico State (5-2), Nevada (4-3), San Jose State (4-3) and Fresno State (4-3) — are contending for the WAC tournament top seed at the approximate midpoint of the league slate.