The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team celebrated its first victory of the season on Sunday night by leaving town.

Some 12 hours after beating Alcorn State by 29 points in the Stan Sheriff Center, the Rainbow Warriors were in Albuquerque, N.M.

The 'Bows will play former Western Athletic Conference rival New Mexico in their first road game of the season tomorrow. The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. (Hawai'i time), and will be broadcast on ESPN 1420 AM.

"It's a quick turnaround, but we wanted to do it that way to get us ready for what's down the line," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "When we start our conference schedule, we'll be flying in and out, with only a day or two to prepare."

The Lobos will certainly provide a tough road test for the 'Bows, who are 1-2.

New Mexico is 5-0 under first-year head coach Steve Alford — the star guard for Indiana's 1987 national championship team. He was the head coach at Iowa for eight seasons before taking over New Mexico this season.

The Lobos are 4-0 at home in The Pit, with the four victories coming by an average of 30.3 points per game.

"They shoot a lot of 3s, they put in a lot of new sets, they run some really good stuff," Nash said. "Steve Alford is a good coach who's been around big-time basketball for a while now, so he's got that program going in the right direction."

Hawai'i will also have to deal with the hostile environment of The Pit, which is regarded as one of the loudest arenas in the nation.

"They'll have 11,000 fans cheering against us," Nash said. "But that's another reason why we wanted this challenge. We're going to play in a lot of tough places in the WAC, so hopefully this will get us ready."

When Hawai'i and New Mexico were both in the WAC from 1980 through 1999, the 'Bows were 2-18 against the Lobos in The Pit.

Nash was an assistant or associate coach at Hawai'i for most of those years.

"What I remember most was it being a great environment for basketball," he said. "They've had Final Fours over there, (NCAA) regionals; and they have knowledgeable fans."

The 'Bows arrived in Albuquerque yesterday morning, and then lifted weights and practiced at Highland High in the afternoon. They then went to The Pit for a brief workout last night.

The Pit is only available to visiting teams during late nights, and Nash said he wanted the 'Bows to get a hard practice done during the day. He said they will follow a similar schedule today.

"I don't want our guys going hard late at night if they don't have to," Nash said. "I prefer to practice earlier so they can rest at night."

GIBSON NOT TRAVELING

Senior point guard Matt Gibson still has not been cleared to practice because of an injured left knee, and did not accompany the team to Albuquerque.

Gibson, who averaged 10.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season, has sat out all three games this season.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Senior forward Bobby Nash has scored in double-figures in every game this season, and leads the team with 22.3 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounding with 6.7 per game, and is shooting 50 percent (10 of 20) from 3-point range.

Two other 'Bows are averaging double-figure points: Riley Luettgerodt at 15.7 per game, and Jared Dillinger at 11.3.

Freshman Kareem Nitoto, a reserve point guard, leads the team in assists with 3.7 per game.

New Mexico is led by 6-foot-5 senior guard J.R. Giddens. He leads the team in scoring with 13.0 points per game, and rebounding with 8.8 per game.

Giddens transferred to New Mexico from Kansas prior to his junior season. Last season, he led the team with 15.8 points per game and was second in rebounding with 6.5 per game. He was a starter at Kansas as a sophomore.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.