"We've been dealing with adversity and making adjustments all year long," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "I think our guys are used to it by now."

The 'Bows were in a similar situation during the road loss at New Mexico. Gibson did not make that road trip because of an injured left knee.

In the six games he has played since recovering from the injury, Gibson is averaging 14.0 points and 4.0 assists per game.

"The way we lost that game, it made me want to play even more," Gibson said. "Hopefully I can be a factor. New Mexico hasn't seen me play, and I'm ready to give them a debut."

The Lobos — and 'Bows — will have to deal with the addition of Gibson, but the subtraction of Verwers.

At 6 feet 11 and 255 pounds, Verwers was the biggest and strongest player on the team. He started all 10 games this season, and was averaging 6.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, and led the team with 11 blocked shots.

"One of our senior brothers is out," Gibson said. "We all love that guy, and we want to win for him now."

Nash said yesterday he was unsure how to replace Verwers in the starting lineup.

"We'll have to mix and match," Nash said. "We'll go big at times and we'll go small at times. We'll use a lot of different guys."

Regardless of who starts, the 'Bows will rely primarily on six players — Gibson, Owsley, Riley Luettgerodt, Bobby Nash, Jared Dillinger and Bill Amis.

Only four other 'Bows are available — post players Alex Veit and Paul Campbell, point guard Kareem Nitoto, and small forward Adhar Mayen.

"Our numbers are thin, so we have to play smart basketball," Bob Nash said. "We can't just foul to bail yourself out because we're not going to have that many fouls to give."

Owsley said: "We only have 10 active players, so that's not much. We have to play smart and play together to make it work."

Not that Hawai'i will get any sympathy from New Mexico. The Lobos have used a 10-player roster the entire season.

Their solution? Use all 10 players. Every New Mexico player averages between 12 and 29 minutes per game.

The Lobos average 74.5 points per game, but their leading scorer, 6-5 senior J.R. Giddens, is averaging just 11.8.

New Mexico had its best shooting night of the season against the 'Bows last month. The Lobos shot 61 percent from the field, including a sizzling 75.9 percent in the second half.

"Hopefully our defense will be better," Nash said. "New Mexico really exposed us in that game, so this will be a good barometer to show us how far we've come since then."

But the Lobos have been shooting well against everybody, particularly from long range. New Mexico is averaging 8.8 3-pointers per game, and ranks sixth in NCAA Division I in 3-point efficiency at 44.1 percent.

In contrast, Hawai'i is averaging 5.0 3-pointers per game, and is shooting 29.6 percent — which ranks 312th in the country — from 3-point range.

VERWERS RECOVERING FROM LEG SURGERY

Verwers underwent successful surgery on his lower left leg Tuesday night, according to Bob Nash.

"The doctors were optimistic that he's going to make a full recovery," Nash said. "They put a rod in his leg to stabilize it."

Verwers suffered fractures to the tibia and fibula in his left leg during practice on Christmas Day. In simpler terms, his lower left leg snapped in half.

Nash described Verwers as "a tough person, inside and out."

"He's obviously feeling down about it right now," Nash said. "But he's a person with strong faith, so he'll get through it."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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