Eran Ganot and his Rainbow Warriors hadn’t seen anything like it. They dealt with the unexpected just the same.

In a game that was delayed almost an hour at halftime due to a broken backboard part at Titan Gym, Hawaii held firm for a 68-60 win in its regular-season finale Saturday against Cal State Fullerton.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen it before or will ever see it again,” Ganot said in a postgame phone interview. “It was hard to describe. Our deal with our guys was to stay ready.”

However, because Long Beach State won at home over UC Riverside after UH’s game, the ’Bows (17-12, 8-8 Big West) remained in sixth place and play third-seeded UC Irvine (16-16, 11-5) on Thursday at Anaheim’s Honda Center. UC Irvine lost 90-84 at home in double overtime to UC Davis with the regular-season championship on the line, and slipped below second-seeded UC Santa Barbara due to a tiebreaker. UH and UCI split the season series, with each winning on the other’s court.

But first, following the strange delay at Titan Gym, Gibson Johnson and Drew Buggs finished with 15 points apiece and had crucial late 3-pointers as UH beat the only team in the conference it hadn’t previously. UH will have to rediscover consistency and win three times in three days for an NCAA Tournament bid.

“We have a lot of confidence we can beat anybody we go up against, and come tournament time we just gotta play our toughest and best basketball,” said Johnson, who hit multiple 3s (2-for-2) in a game for the first time this season. “If we do that, I like our chances.”

Some welded metal was observed as loose on the stanchion that Hawaii had just scored 34 points on in the first half to take a five-point lead at intermission. It was deemed unplayable for the second half and the teams were sent back to the locker rooms while contingencies, including suspending the game, were discussed by Fullerton officials.

It was unclear if the part broke on a tomahawk dunk by Mike Thomas that left the stanchion rattling, or was already busted before the game.

CSUF eventually decided to lower backup ceiling rims that apparently hadn’t been used for an official game in decades. They had to be measured from the gym floor to check if they met regulation, and were thoroughly cleaned of grime.

It didn’t bother the ’Bows. Some played hacky sack with a basketball during the 50-plus-minute wait.

“That’s not something you see every day but when something like that happens, instead of letting it get us out of our rhythm I actually think we have fun,” Johnson said. “We’ve been through stuff like that. We come together as a team. The atmosphere in the locker room … it was a lot of fun. Even coming out warming up, we felt ready to play. I had a lot of confidence going into the second half.”

Part of the reason for that confidence was that Titans guard Kyle Allman, who scored 40 points on 16-for-19 shooting in CSUF’s 69-66 win in Honolulu on Jan. 27, was held to 18 points in the rematch on 5-for-14 shooting.

After three straight buckets by center Arkim Robertson, Allman scored in transition to get the Titans within 41-39.

Leland Green (10 points) hit a long 2 and Jack Purchase (10) hit a transition 3 as UH pushed up to its largest lead of seven. CSUF (17-11, 10-6) answered with an 8-0 run to take the lead.

But Allman, who airballed his first shot of the game, was quiet down the stretch as UH rotated different guards on him. The hosts’ No. 2 option, Khalil Ahmad, was held to seven points on 3-for-13 shooting.

“I thought the last 10 minutes of the game were probably our best defensive and rebounding performance of the year,” Ganot said. “Especially when you put in the context of a Fullerton team that’s doing really well, and at home. I was proud we did that after losing the lead.”

Brocke Stepteau hit a tough bank shot to tie it at 52. Soon after, Buggs hit a corner triple for a four-point lead with 2:45 left and Johnson followed with one from the top of the arc.

“When Buggs shot the 3, I had a great view of it going in. I was just like, we’re not gonna lose this game,” Johnson said. “Next play, (we) called a play I was open at the top, and I’m like, ‘I’m gonna get in on the fun as well.’ ”

Davon Clare converted a three-point play with 1:09 left to get the Titans within 63-60. Fullerton backed off taking fouls and UH got a Buggs score inside from Johnson to beat the shot clock. Purchase pushed it back to seven at the line to seal it.

Green hurt his right shoulder with 5:15 left and did not return.

“Leland is very diligent about his treatment,” Ganot said. “We’re gonna do everything we can and be smart about it.”