This could be like diving into shark-infested waters with an open wound.

The Hawaii men's basketball team is hurting, and the Rainbow Warriors' foes can smell blood. Bob Nash expects no mercy from UH's Western Athletic Conference counterparts in the stretch drive of the league schedule.

With the loss of guard Jeremy Lay for the season with hernia surgery, the Rainbows are more vulnerable than ever in the backcourt, with just three active guards on the roster—including two walk-ons—with seven regular-season games left.

UH (9-14, 2-8 WAC) departed for Dallas on a red-eye flight last night and will bus to Ruston, La., today for tomorrow's game at Louisiana Tech (19-5, 7-3). From there, UH heads back to Dallas, then El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, N.M., for Monday's game at New Mexico State.

Both opponents applied fullcourt pressure vs. Hawaii in Honolulu last month, and escaped with narrow victories.

That was before point guard Hiram Thompson dealt with a bum left shoulder and Lay, who acted as pressure relief, became the latest 'Bow to go down.

Nash was asked if he anticipated a ratcheting up of the pressure with swingmen Roderick Flemings and Adhar Mayen and walk-on Leroy Lutu Jr. asked to fill the off-guard void.

“;Would you?”; he replied with an amused chuckle. “;Yeah. If you look at our situation, take the ball out of Hiram's hands, make somebody else have to bring it up the floor. That's the simple solution. That's no big secret.”;

The answer in his eyes—if there is one—is to control tempo. The Rainbows showed that they could slow down the game and make a team play at their pace in the 66-60 loss at Nevada, their last road game.

The idea is to reduce the odds of foul trouble on Thompson, lower turnovers, and prevent opponents' running games from breaking free.

“;We can beat them, we match up real well against (LaTech),”; Mayen said. “;Slow the tempo down, get the tempo our way, and we'll be fine, and be in the game the whole time.”;

Despite all that's happened this season, particularly over the current five-game losing streak, the Rainbows haven't lost confidence. With their backs against the wall, they've had to embrace added responsibilities.

Mayen, a 6-8 senior, realizes it might fall upon him to alleviate double-teams on Thompson.

“;I've been focusing more on my handles, trying to get my handles right, just to get prepared for game time,”; Mayen said. “;They know we don't have guards, so I'm going to have to handle the ball a lot.”;

Lutu, a sophomore, has seen his role increase over the last two weeks as UH has been without the indefinitely suspended Dwain Williams. Fellow walk-on Rykin Enos could also be called upon in dire circumstances.

“;We've kind of been hit with the injury bug lately, and what happened to Jeremy is unfortunate,”; Lutu said. “;I'm glad he could play most of the season, but he has to take care of himself and get healthy. Hiram's just been battling different types of injuries all year.

“;Coach told me my opportunity is coming up and I'm ready for 'em, and hopefully I can play well. Just gotta play hard and play smart and hopefully we can get at least one W on this road trip.”;

NMSU game televised

Hawaii's game at New Mexico State on Monday will be picked up by KFVE, a UH spokesman said yesterday.

The game tips off at 4 p.m. Hawaii time. NMSU's AggieVision broadcast team will call the action.