Playing as if it were a house of straw against the big, bad Wolf Pack, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team got blown away last night.

The Rainbow Warriors had one of their worst shooting games of the season in a 77-59 loss to Nevada.

A crowd of 4,257 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows fall to 5-10 overall and 1-2 in the WAC.

"It was a nightmarish night," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "I guess it was just like a road game for us tonight. We just didn't get the bounces that we needed."

The Wolf Pack improved to 8-6 and 1-1. Nevada has won the last four games against the 'Bows.

Matt Gibson had team-highs of 22 points and seven rebounds, but it was not enough to overcome dismal shooting performances from the other four starters.

"It just came down to our shooters missing a couple of jump shots, and that's something that doesn't happen too often," Gibson said.

Bobby Nash scored a season-low eight points on 4-of-18 shooting, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range. Riley Luettgerodt scored a season-low four points on 2-of-7 shooting. Jared Dillinger scored a season-low two points on 1-of-7 shooting, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range.

It was that kind of night.

"Twenty-one 3-pointers and we make three," Bobby Nash said. "That's not a very good percentage ... it was just a bad game."

The 59 points also tied a season-low for Hawai'i, and the 'Bows finished with a .375 field-goal percentage, including .143 from 3-point range.

It didn't start that way. Everything seemed to be going for Hawai'i in the opening minutes when it jumped to a 22-10 lead.

Gibson hit an off-balance 3-pointer as the 35-shot clock expired. P.J. Owsley found a loose ball under the basket and put in a reverse layup.

"We get the lead every game," Gibson said. "We come out and get the lead, and I don't know what it is. We just go through periods where (we) just don't score."

The Wolf Pack rallied with a 12-0 run to tie the score at 22. Nevada eventually took a 31-28 lead at intermission, then pulled away in the second half behind All-WAC guard Marcelus Kemp.

The 6-foot-5 senior finished with a season-high 29 points, including 19 in the second half.

"I was just taking what the defense was giving me," Kemp said. "I saw some open lanes, made a couple of open shots and that got me going."

The Wolf Pack opened the game with a surprise look — four guards and 7-foot center JaVale McGee. But after falling behind, Nevada went back to its traditional lineup and took control.

"We started a very small team, and that small group didn't rebound it very well," Nevada head coach Mark Fox said. "After the slow start, we really battled and defended, and rebounded well."

Nevada shot for a .510 percentage, and out-rebounded the 'Bows 36-31. The Wolf Pack also went 18 of 21 on free throws to Hawai'i's 8 of 14.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.