Hawaii basketball’s road trip to Texas Tech served as a refresher course in adversity.

Studying abroad in the Lone Star State — the Rainbow Warriors’ first and last nonconference trip of the season — was a potentially valuable experience even as UH fell 82-74 on Saturday, its first defeat under coach Eran Ganot.

UH resumed practice at the Stan Sheriff Center on Monday with the knowledge that it needed to shore up some areas in order to play at its potential.

“You learn the hard way sometimes, and the hard way isn’t getting yelled at and running up and down, all that stuff. It’s losing,” Ganot said.

UH (4-1) couldn’t maintain an 11-point first-half lead in frigid Lubbock and was denied its first 5-0 start to the season since 2010, but will have a prime opportunity to start a new winning streak going into the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. UH opens up a 10-game homestand against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-5) on Wednesday and follows up by bringing in PacWest teams Hawaii Hilo (Dec. 8) and Hawaii Pacific (Dec. 12).

Ganot called it a “bounce-back week.”

The coach was adamant about not putting the Texas Tech loss on the discrepancy of fouls called (30-16 against UH), but rather on the Rainbows’ inability to deliver on their chances at the line (11-for-19) and team composure at some key junctures. Point guard Roderick Bobbitt received a second-half technical foul during a stretch in which three starters — Bobbitt, Stefan Jankovic and Mike Thomas — fouled out.

“Tech was a good team, you know, but we’re better,” co-captain Quincy Smith said. “We should’ve beat them, could’ve beat them. It is what it is. I’d rather take a loss earlier in the season than later in the season where it’s going to really hurt us.”

A bright spot in the loss was the play of sophomore guard Isaac Fleming, who came off the bench to score a career-best 21 points. Three of his four 3-pointers (another new best) came during UH’s first-half salvo.

“Honestly, through the first couple games getting to that game, I’ve just been wondering what’s been going on with me,” said Fleming, who notched his first double-figure scoring game of the season. “I had a good talk with my parents, and it was more so just me being myself. Not trying to overthink it or make the home run play every time.”

Swingman Aaron Valdes put in a season-best 25 in the loss, raising his scoring average to 18.6 — third among Big West Conference players.

Like it often has, UH ended Monday’s session at the Sheriff by shooting pressure free throws. The team’s average of 59.4 percent puts UH 332nd out of 346 Division I teams.

Ganot noted team composure had generally been a positive until the Tech game. Then again, the biggest tests of mettle often occur on the road. The ‘Bows don’t head back out until Jan. 14 for Big West play.

“We don’t travel to hang out. We travel for two things — to come together as a team … and to get the job done,” Ganot said. “I thought we did one of those two things.

“Once you get back, you study it, you learn from it, and then you move on.”