Bob Nash knows there are more important things to care about at this time of year than the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

Which is why he said — in seriousness — that his Christmas wish is "for peace in the world."

"You can't forget the loved ones, you can't forget the ones we lost, you can't forget about the ones who are in harm's way for the rest of us in a war situation," Nash said. "That's a lot more important than basketball."

But Nash is in his first season as head coach of the Rainbow Warriors, and he wouldn't mind if Santa Claus could drop off a few more victories for his team in the coming weeks.

The 'Bows are 3-7 after a forgettable 0-3 showing in the Rainbow Classic last week.

"There's too many peaks and valleys," Nash said. "Sustainability is what we're after now. We need to stick together as a team and sustain the positive things we're doing."

And apparently there's nothing better to cure the holiday blues than a good old-fashioned Christmas party.

The 'Bows raised their spirits Sunday with a Christmas party hosted by Nash and his wife, Domelynne. They sang Christmas carols, exchanged gifts and shared in a holiday feast.

"Those are good times," Nash said. "Off the court, all these guys are excellent. We just need to transfer that to the court now."

Senior center Stephen Verwers said: "It was awesome, we had a great time. There was so much food. Mrs. Nash threw an unbelievable party. And we needed it. We needed something to take our minds off the losses for a little while."

The 'Bows will need to be refreshed this week. They will host New Mexico Thursday in the completion of a home-and-home series.

The Lobos beat the 'Bows, 89-60, at Albuquerque, N.M., on Nov. 21. The 29-point margin is the largest of the season for Hawai'i.

"We got blown out at their place, so if we're competitors and we have heart, we should be thinking payback," Hawai'i senior guard Riley Luettgerodt said.

The 'Bows practiced yesterday and will do so again today and tomorrow to prepare for the 11-2 Lobos.

"Yeah, it's Christmas, but we still need to practice," Verwers said. "The season keeps going. Losing sucks, so we have to move on and try and get some wins."

After Thursday's game against New Mexico, Hawai'i will host Centenary Sunday. The 'Bows will then begin the new year with Western Athletic Conference road games at Utah State on Jan. 3 and San Jose State on Jan. 5.

Nash said he wanted to schedule non-conference games in between the Rainbow Classic and WAC opener.

He also said the five weeks in between games with the Lobos will be a good way to gauge Hawai'i's progress.

"New Mexico is a team that exposed a lot of things that we didn't do in preparation for that game," Nash said. "This will be a good barometer to see how far we've come since then and how far we need to go."

In the moments after the loss at New Mexico, several 'Bows talked about the Dec. 27 rematch.

"It's here," Luettgerodt said. "It hasn't gone like how we hoped it would since that game, but we still have a chance to get them back. That's all you can ask for."

Well, at this time of year, they could ask for something else.

"My Christmas wish hasn't changed — it's still for the WAC title," Verwers said.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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