LAS CRUCES, N.M. >> Breaking New Mexico State's fullcourt pressure was a painful experience for Hawaii junior guard Hiram Thompson.

Thompson battled a shoulder injury and played 26 minutes in an 88-64 Western Athletic Conference loss to the Aggies last night at the Pan American Center.

“;I tweaked it again, but we are short in numbers, so I just have to fight through it,”; Thompson said.

The Rainbow Warriors turned the ball over 18 times, falling to 9-16 and 2-10 in the WAC. The Aggies capitalized, scoring 28 points off Hawaii miscues.

“;That was a big factor in the game,”; Hawaii coach Bob Nash said. “;Certainly when you don't have enough seasoned backcourt players against that type of pressure, you are going to turn the ball over, and we did.”;

NMSU (16-9, 9-3) pressed the entire game, limiting the Rainbows to 39 percent shooting.

Hawaii lost its seventh straight game, failing to score more than 64 points since a 71-69 home loss to NMSU on Jan. 21. The Aggies pushed the pace to their liking, shooting 51.7 percent from the floor, tallying the second-highest point total for a Hawaii opponent this season (98 points at Utah State on Jan. 11). UH fell to 0-7 on the road this season and 0-5 all-time vs. NMSU in Las Cruces.

“;We wanted to keep it at a slow pace, but they hit a lot of shots, and when you are in a zone and they are shooting good, it's hard to stop,”; Thompson said. “;And we didn't take care of the ball, and that combination is a bad combination.”;

Thompson finished the game with six of the Rainbows' 18 turnovers. He played all but 2 minutes in the first half, but his injured left shoulder was knocked loose late in the first half, limiting him to 8 minutes in the second half.

Without Thompson, sophomore guard Leroy Lutu Jr. played 19 minutes, trying to beat the Aggies' press while defending against Aggies guards Jahmar Young and Jonathan Gibson.

“;There was a lot of hand checking,”; Nash said. “;We thought we could get some fouls called on those. But they banged (Thompson) around pretty good and the referees let it go and it just wears on you. When he goes out of the game, it changes dramatically.”;

With junior guard Jeremy Lay slated to go under the knife for hernia surgery on Feb. 24 and Dwain Williams still serving an indefinite suspension, the Rainbows struggled getting into their halfcourt offense.

“;We play with what we have on our team right now,”; Nash said. “;Certainly the inexperience not having played in live fire in a hostile environment like this and playing against guards like New Mexico State has, it's difficult.”;

Leading 42-27 at halftime, the Aggies outscored Hawaii 9-0 to open the second half. NMSU outscored Hawaii 12-2 in the first 5 minutes, capped by a Young pull-up 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 54-29 with 15:06 to play.

NMSU was 11-for-27 from 3-point range and the Aggies pushed their lead to as many as 29 with 9:08 remaining.

“;They have done a very good job keeping teams at bay, but we shot so well from the perimeter,”; NMSU coach Marvin Menzies said. “;Shooting 40 percent from 3 is pretty good.”;

The Aggies started the game just as hot offensively, hitting eight of 11 to open the game and leading by as many as 16 in the first half.

“;The past few games we have been playing zone,”; Thompson said. “;We are short and we have to save our legs. We weren't making rotations like we usually do.”;

Hawaii wing Roderick Flemings matched a season high with 25 points to go with 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. He scored 10 consecutive points to help Hawaii close to within seven with less than 5 minutes left in the first half, but the Aggies outscored Hawaii 14-6 in the last 3:36.

Adhar Mayen and Brandon Adams added 11 each for UH.

The loss was the Rainbow's ninth in their last 10 games.

Yesterday
New Mexico State 88, Hawaii 64
Tomorrow
Fresno State at Nevada
Cal State Bakersfield at Boise State
Louisiana Tech at Utah State
Thursday
Seattle University at Idaho

Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.
Halftime — New Mexico State 42, Hawaii 27
3-point goals — Hawaii 3-17 (Thompson 1-3, Mayen 1-5, Flemings 1-7, Lutu 0-2), New Mexico St. 11-27 (Young 4-8, Castillo 3-6, Laroche 2-3, Gibson 2-5, McKines 0-1, Sy 0-1, Merker 0-1, Gillenwater 0-1, Watson 0-1).
Steals — Hawaii 5 (Thompson 2, Flemings, Mayen, Kurtz), New Mexico St. 9 (Laroche 2, Watson 2, Young, Gibson, Britt, Merker, Castillo). Blocked shots — Hawaii none, New Mexico St. 4 (Gillenwater 3, Rahman).
Officials — David Hall, Chris Rastatter, Darron George. A— 5,561.