In street clothes and red shoes, forward Roderick Flemings stood out among his uniformed teammates on the University of Hawai'i men's basketball bench yesterday like, well, a ... sore knee.

But the time that point guard Hiram Thompson spent there alongside him might have been the most telling.

While Flemings was the most high-profile, most-discussed, casualty, Thompson's absence ultimately had more to do with the Rainbow Warriors' resulting 84-75 loss to Saint Mary's in the third-place game of the inaugural Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

Too bad, too, because the 'Bows shook off their 24-point loss to Nevada-Las Vegas Wednesday with a determined effort against 11-2 Saint Mary's.

The combination of the absences of Flemings and Thompson added up to UH's second loss in a row, leveling the 'Bows' record at 6-6 entering the final pre-conference game Monday night against Northwestern State.

Flemings sat out the game with a bruised knee suffered against UNLV. And while his scoring (15 points-a-game average) and rebounding (6.5) were definitely missed, the 'Bows found an answer for the point production in Dwain Williams, who got the start. Williams' 36 points, a season high by a 'Bow, kept them in a game that threatened to get away badly.

But when Thompson went out in the second half with 10 minutes 36 seconds remaining after being poked in the eye, the 'Bows had no other recourse. There was no Plan B.

Such is their depth at guard there was no one else to run the point effectively — and it showed in 16 turnovers that the Gaels recycled into a disabling 30 points. The Gaels turned it over but eight times from which UH manufactured 11 points.

"That's our guy that controls tempo and controls everything and when he leaves the floor we don't have a seasoned guy running our offense," said UH coach Bob Nash. "And certainly we needed his leadership at the end of the game."

UH out-shot Saint Mary's and was within one rebound. But where any chance of stealing a game from the Gaels got away from the 'Bows was in turning the ball over.

"We had a few turnovers that led to some runouts," Nash said. "When you are playing a team that averages 84 points (a game), you can't afford to have those kind of mental breakdowns."

It has been a tough tournament for Thompson, who took a hard shot to the head when he hit the floor two nights earlier against UNLV.

Without him at the point, however, it was more painful for the 'Bows.