Hawaii’s hopes of a conference title are dashed in a narrow loss to UC Irvine

ANAHEIM, Calif. >> The poem was all too true, all too real.

That’s what Mike Thomas kept thinking in the sterile tunnels of the Honda Center after his five-year Hawaii career probably came to an end with a 68-67 loss to UC Irvine in the Big West quarterfinals on Thursday night.

The third-seeded Anteaters (17-16) stormed back from 10 points down with four minutes left — capped by guard Max Hazzard’s elbow jumper with 5.5 seconds to go — to send the sixth-seeded Rainbow Warriors (17-13) out of the tournament for the third time in UH’s six years of Big West membership.

The poem associate head coach Adam Jacobsen read to Thomas and his teammates earlier in the season, about minding the little things, was of little comfort as the co-captain sat at the postgame interview podium and stared out into faces that thought the Rainbow Warriors definitely, probably, maybe should’ve won that game.

“Basically the premise of it was, ‘Coach, get off my back. It was just one play. It was just one stop. It was just one free throw,’ something like that,” said Thomas, who scored 14 points. “When you look back, that’s kind of what’s on my mind a lot, because we lost by one point. I can look at my personal performance and say I threw the ball away (near the end), three free throws missed and stuff. That’s the feeling I have right now, personally a little heartbroken, I feel I let the team down a little bit. But I’m also proud of how we played tonight, and how hard we played.”

Chimed in Gibson Johnson, the team’s other senior co-captain, who scored a career-high 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting: “I’ll just add to that that the last person who let this team down was Mike Thomas.”

UH coach Eran Ganot was effusive in his praise of his senior class, noting they helped keep UH competitive over the past two years in the wake of NCAA sanctions.

“The hardest thing in life is living with regret. And sometimes you have to, and you wish you had (those moments) back. But you don’t get them back,” Ganot said. “It’s how you live and learn from it. I think we’ve got a special group of guys who will learn, and grow, and they have all year.”

Unless UH accepts an invitation to partake in a pay-to-play tournament like the CIT — an unlikely, but not impossible scenario — its season is over, with its last memory of 2017-18 the lead it squandered after outplaying UCI for most of the game. UH led 62-52 on a two-handed dunk by Thomas with 4:08 left, then fell victim to a near-perfect game by Irvine from that point.

The Anteaters, who’d uncharacteristically been outplayed inside all game thanks to deft passing and UH’s patience, went small, pressed and forced some late turnovers, and kept getting to the;’ line, shooting 14-for-15 there in the second half compared to 5-for-6 for UH.

Athletic director David Matlin said soon after the loss that he’d meet with Ganot and weigh options in the next “24 to 48 hours.” UH last hosted a CIT game in 2013.

“They played well. They were up most of the game,” Matlin said. “Some really good guys, you don’t want to see it end. That’s why you take a look at it. I think everything factors in. But I wouldn’t say it drives a decision.”

Johnson put UH up for the last time with a three-point play with 14.1 seconds left.

Guard Brocke Stepteau, running the point after Drew Buggs fouled out in the final minute, had a look at the buzzer after he drove the length of the court and into the paint. After he pivoted, his contested look was off the left side of the iron, no good, and Russell Turner’s Anteaters advanced to the semifinals for the seventh straight year.

The guard trio of Evan Leonard (24 points), Eyassu Worku (18) and Hazzard (15) carried UCI, which gets second-seeded UC Santa Barbara today.

“I told the team before the game, it would not be an upset if Hawaii were to beat us,” Turner said. “They’re good. They’re a good team. They’re veteran, and the veterans tonight, Thomas and Gibson Johnson, their performances are what you expect seniors to do in conference tournament situations.

“Tonight, Hawaii’s big guys severely outplayed ours, and we were still able to win. And we have to feel somewhat fortunate to have won that game. I mean, we know that.”

Thomas had 10 points and six boards by the break. The Rainbows committed three turnovers in the first half in leading 29-26 at halftime, and shot 55.6 percent from the field in the second half (44.8 percent overall) to keep the lead going.

Johnson’s free throws put UH up double figures for the first time with 5:30 left; it was one of only two fouls called on UCI in the final 11-plus minutes.

“Our guys were clicking offensively, shooting close to 60 percent in the second half against a dominant defensive team, getting good looks,” Ganot said. “Just one tough stretch. And it’s a shame.”

UCI captured the lead for the first time in the half, 65-64 on a Leonard layup from Worku with 1:07 left.

With time expiring, Johnson worked on the BWC two-time defensive player of the year, Jonathan Galloway. He put it up and in off the glass, plus the free throw, keeping alive UH’s bid for a third semifinal berth in four years.

After Hazzard’s one-dribble left-side jumper was all net, UCI waited for Stepteau’s desperate drive and contested it well.

There would be no poetic justice for Hawaii.