Awww, shucks

It was the ultimate comeback that was, then wasn’t.

Hawaii trailed Auburn the whole game until a Vander Joaquim hook with 8.6 seconds left, but the Tigers countered with a transition dunk from Rob Chubb with 3.9 seconds left coming out of a timeout and prevailed for a 65-62 win.

Hawaii (5-5) will wait at least one more year for its first Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic title after the nail-biting loss on Thursday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Warriors face No. 14 Xavier (8-2) in the consolation semifinals today at 8:30 p.m. The Musketeers were short-handed in a loss to Long Beach State, but will be near full strength against the ‘Bows.

After Joaquim’s basket to go ahead, UH elected not to guard the inbounds man. Varez Ward caught the ball near midcourt, stumbled — freezing the defense for a moment — and streaked to the basket, finding Chubb in a seam after UH collapsed on the point guard. After Chubb’s thunderous two-handed dunk, Chris Denson stole UH forward Trevor Wiseman’s inbounds pass and made both free throws with 2 seconds left.

On UH’s last gasp, Wiseman caught a fullcourt heave, but his errant 3-point desperation shot was ruled to be after the buzzer.

"I thought we were right in there," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "Two even teams, and I thought we could have pulled that one out. It’s a tough one."

Senior guard Zane Johnson led UH with 18 points on 6-for-15 shooting. Junior forward Joston Thomas added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting and Joaquim had 10 points and nine rebounds.

Multiple defibrillation attempts by a rocking crowd of about 7,000 resurrected the ‘Bows, who came back from a six-point deficit with 2:30 left.

Johnson hit a curling 3-pointer to make it 59-56 with 1:20 left, and Thomas forced an over-and-back turnover on the ensuing possession, then earned a trip to the free-throw line with 43.2 seconds left, converting one of two.

Garrett Jefferson accidentally committed a foul before the Auburn inbounds pass and guard Frankie Sullivan converted both 1-and-1 free throws for a 61-57 lead.

But Wiseman slashed to the hoop and completed a three-point play with 28.2 seconds left to cut it to 61-60.

UH couldn’t steal the inbounds pass and was forced to foul Sullivan. Sullivan missed both as the crowd roared, and UH worked the ball to Joaquim for a 1-on-1 matchup.

The elation was fleeting.

"It was neck-and-neck," Chubb said. "(Ward) came down the lane, went coast-to-coast, three guys collapsed on him and he found a pocket … it worked out in my favor."

The ‘Bows’ rallying effort was hamstrung by poor free-throw shooting (13-for-23, 56.5 percent) and another subpar night from beyond the arc (5-for-17, 29.4 percent).

A six-point halftime deficit was erased as UH turned stops into fast-break points to tie the game at 43. But Auburn gathered itself and took a 51-44 lead when the ‘Bows proceeded to miss their next nine shots.

UH got fast-break hoops from Shaquille Stokes and Jefferson to pull within three, then to 53-51 with a Joaquim free throw with 5 minutes left.

Arnold started a backcourt of Miah Ostrowski and Stokes to counter the fullcourt pressure of the Tigers. Thomas came out to start for Stokes in the second half after providing a spark off the bench in the first period.

Auburn (8-1) was largely untested on the road, its only game away from home a loss at Seton Hall. But Tony Barbee’s team remained undefeated in eight games when leading at halftime.

"It was a heavyweight fight. They weren’t going to stop punching, we weren’t going to stop punching," Barbee said. "Fortunately for us, we made the play that counted."

Sullivan led Auburn with 17 points and six assists, while Chubb added 14 points and Kenny Gabriel 13 points and nine rebounds.

Auburn burned UH several times with lob passes and jumped out to leads of 9-2 and 24-13.

UH pulled to within 24-23 on a Johnson fast-break 3-pointer to cap a 10-0 run, and Thomas provided a spark off the bench with nine first-half points. But he went 1-for-5 at the free-throw line in the period and the ‘Bows still trailed 35-29 at halftime.

NOTES

» Zane Johnson entered the game with 25 straight made free throws. He made both of his attempts on Thursday to move within one of tying Reggie Carter for the school record.

» Xavier and UH meet for the first time since 2002, when the Musketeers beat the ‘Bows 70-58 in the NCAA Tournament.

» New UH football coach Norm Chow was recognized to a standing ovation during the game’s first timeout.