There is no rest for the road weary.

At least not for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

Despite a long day of travel Sunday, and the start of classes for the spring semester on the Manoa campus yesterday morning, the Rainbow Warriors were back in the practice gym yesterday afternoon.

"We don't have time to rest," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done."

The 'Bows dropped to 9-7 overall and 1-3 in the Western Athletic Conference after road losses to Idaho and Boise State last week. Hawai'i's next game is scheduled for Saturday against San Jose State at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"I thought maybe we would get a day off because our next game is Saturday," junior guard Lasha Parghalava said. "But we didn't play like we were supposed to the last two games, so we need the practice. We have to get better."

The 'Bows were as cold as the weather in Idaho in the two losses last week. Hawai'i shot 29.8 percent in the 67-47 loss at Idaho, then 33.3 percent in the 54-49 loss at Boise State. It was the first time since the 1993-94 season that a Hawai'i team was held below 50 points in back-to-back games.

With that in mind, Nash said the 'Bows will concentrate on offensive execution during practices this week.

"Just keep tinkering with it until we get it right," Nash said.

Nash said the 'Bows especially need to work on scoring against zone defenses, because they will probably see much of that from opponents the rest of this season.

"It's like we've never seen a zone before and the first few games, that's all people played against us," Nash said. "We should know how to handle it by now."

Hawai'i has struggled with perimeter shooting all season, so Nash said a better solution is to attack from the inside, and "take advantage of some post-up opportunities."

Reserve forward Brandon Adams said: "We should be there by now, offensively. But I think we're still learning. Sometimes, it just takes longer. We still have what it takes, and we know we can play so much better."

The 'Bows played both road games without starting point guard Hiram Thompson. He was still unable to practice yesterday due to a hamstring injury.

Parghalava and Kareem Nitoto have been sharing duties at point guard in place of Thompson.

"To tell you the truth, I feel comfortable at point guard already because I've played it so much this year," said Parghalava. "What ever the coach wants me to do, I can do. But when Hiram comes back, I think I will like it better at (shooting) guard."

In any case, the 'Bows said they realize that the winter break is over.

"Back to school, back to a more normal schedule," Adams said. "I think that's going to help us. It'll be nice to be at home for a whole week, rest our legs, and focus on just one opponent."

'BOWS ENDURE QUIRKY WAC SCHEDULE

Hawai'i opened the WAC season with four games in eight days — in three different cities.

The 'Bows are back home for just one game this week, against San Jose State on Saturday.

It gets tough again next week, when the 'Bows make a one-game road trip to Nevada on Jan. 22. They then have 48 hours to return home to host Utah State on Jan. 24.

"The schedule is not ideal, but we just have to do what we do," Nash said. "That's the hand that's been dealt to us. We can't make any changes to it now."

FLEMINGS STILL ATOP WAC IN SCORING

Despite the team's recent offensive woes, Hawai'i junior Roderick Flemings continues to lead the conference in scoring with 17.6 points per game.

He also leads the WAC in free throws made with 79, and in minutes played with 35.9 per game.

Parghalava leads the WAC in free-throw percentage at .837 (36 of 43).