One night after making the nice list, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team made the naughty list in a 77-53 loss to UNLV last night.

As a result, the Rainbow Warriors will not get their Christmas wish of a championship trophy from the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

Hawai'i's worst loss of this season came in a semifinal game of the inaugural Diamond Head Classic. It was played before a crowd of 3,780 at the Stan Sheriff Center and thousands more watching around the nation on ESPN2.

"We ran up against a team that put tremendous pressure on us," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "We kind of got out of character in terms of how we do things."

The 'Bows had their four-game winning streak snapped to drop to 6-5. They will play Saint Mary's for third place in the eight-team tournament on Christmas Day at 2:30 p.m.

UNLV, which is ranked No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll, improved to 12-1. The Runnin' Rebels will play USC for the tournament championship tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.

"I mean, that's a top 20 team," Hawai'i guard Dwain Williams said. "Basically, with a top 20 team like that, we have to match their intensity. I just felt we didn't match their intensity."

Less than 24 hours after its best shooting game of the season, Hawai'i had its worst last night. The 'Bows made just 15 of 44 shots for a .341 field goal percentage.

Williams tied his season-high with 20 points, but he was the only Hawai'i player to score in double-figures.

Leading scorer Roderick Flemings had eight points and 10 rebounds before limping off the court with around 8 minutes remaining with what appeared to be a knee injury.

Starting point guard Hiram Thompson also sat out the game's closing minutes after he bumped his head on the court midway through the second half.

Not that it mattered. The Rebels had the 'Bows woozy from the start.

Hawai'i fell behind early and stayed in a slump the entire game.

The 'Bows went 0 for 10 from the field to open the game, allowing the Rebels to race to a 9-2 lead.

UNLV increased the lead to 24-7, and turned it into a rout shortly after. The Rebels led by as many as 25 in the first half and eventually took a 44-21 lead at intermission.

"This was a road game and always on the road, it's great to get off to a good start," UNLV head coach Lon Kruger said. "It changes the whole complexion of the evening."

Indeed, the 'Bows never got closer than 17 points in the second half.

UNLV stymied Hawai'i with an aggressive defense that collected nine steals. The 'Bows committed 19 turnovers, which led directly to 23 points for the Rebels.

Many of the Hawai'i turnovers came against UNLV's full-court press, thus leading to easy layups for the Rebels.

"They just took us out of our comfort zone," Nash said. "We didn't run our offense the way we wanted to. It wasn't as crisp as we would like. But you have to give UNLV credit. They had something to do with that."

On Tuesday, the 'Bows faced a similar full-court scheme against College of Charleston, and managed to pass for 18 assists with a .604 field goal percentage.

"(UNLV's) press is more man-to-man and it's continuous," Nash said. "Once you get it across half-court, they stay in it."

Hawai'i passed for a season-low six assists last night, and got out-rebounded 41-30.

"It was tough running plays," Williams said. "They guarded a lot of our stuff. They took us out of a lot of stuff."

Hawai'i starting forward Petras Balocka entered the game averaging 11.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, but finished with four points and five rebounds last night. He shot 0 of 4 from the field and 4 of 6 on free throws.

Also, starting center Paul Campbell and key reserve guard Jeremy Lay were held scoreless.

"We dictated, obviously, on the defensive end and created a lot of opportunities with traps in the backcourt," Kruger said. "Just good awareness, good effort."

The Rebels didn't exactly have their best shooting game, either. They went 27 of 65 from the field for a .415 percentage.

However, UNLV's defense never allowed Hawai'i to make a significant dent in the deficit in the second half.

"We got after it pretty good early, and that was a big key," Kruger said.

Nash said: "We probably won't face another team this year that puts quite as much pressure on us as UNLV did."

Fortunately for the 'Bows, they won't have to face any more Mountain West Conference teams this season. Hawai'i is 0-3 against Mountain West teams this season, with the average margin of deficit by 18 points.

Derrick Jasper led a balanced UNLV attack with 14 points and seven rebounds. Tre'Von Willis added 12 points and Oscar Bellfield 10. All 11 Rebels in uniform scored.