ANAHEIM, Calif. » The ride stopped tantalizingly, frustratingly short of where Hawaii wanted to go — the NCAA Tournament.

But what a ride it was.

The Rainbow Warriors’ surprising season is more than likely over with their 67-58 loss to UC Irvine in the Big West tournament championship game on Saturday night at the Honda Center.

"It’s been a great ride for me," said coach Benjy Taylor, who took over when Gib Arnold was fired on Oct. 28, just before the season’s start.

"I’m humbled, I enjoyed the opportunity, it’s been a lot of fun," Taylor said. "But it’s tough to talk about that right now because we’re heartbroken that we’re not going to the NCAA Tournament. But when we look back on this when everybody calms down, we got a lot of fond memories and this was a special group and I’m proud of them."

The fifth-seeded Rainbow Warriors enjoyed a spirited run to the title game with wins over Long Beach State and top-seeded UC Davis on Thursday and Friday, but were ultimately denied in their bid for their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2002.

UH (22-13) was unable to maintain early hot shooting and a 13-point lead as the Anteaters, one of the best defensive teams in the conference, ranged out far in their zone defense with 7-foot-6 center Mamadou Ndiaye and forward Will Davis II the anchors. UH shot just 37.7 percent from the field and went 4-for-9 at the free-throw line in dropping to 0-3 against UCI this season.

Still, the Rainbow Warriors have the most victories in a season since the 2001-02 team went a program-record 27-6.

"I mean, of course I want to go to the tournament, I want to win a championship," said Garrett Nevels, the team’s lone senior, who scored 14 points. "But at the same time, we had a 22-win season. Nobody expected us to be here. None of you (media) guys expected us to be here. But we stuck together as a team and we made it this far. So you know … we had a great season, that’s all I can say."

It was billed as an all-or-nothing, high-stakes contest on the way in.

"We were told that in December, November. Win it all, or nice year," Taylor said. "And we made it a nice year. It is what it is. We’re disappointed, but we won’t be broken by this. We got a lot of young guys who will get better. And we’ll bounce back. I’m confident in that. It just hurts right now."

It appeared nothing changed afterward, as UH athletic director Ben Jay all but ruled out any postseason for the team. UH does not have the requisite RPI to make the National Invitation Tournament, and Jay has said the athletic department cannot afford the payment required (roughly $35,000) to participate in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

"I don’t see us playing in a postseason tournament," Jay said. "Financially, we can’t really take a chance on the CIT or CBI.

"We’ve had a great season … the kids ought to be proud of their effort this season," Jay continued. "But as far as postseason, I just reserve judgment on that right now."

Similar to their Davis semifinal, UH shot lights-out to start things off and led in Saturday’s game for the whole first half and was even with the Anteaters (21-12) through 30 minutes of play. But third-seeded UCI pulled away late.

It was the first Big West tourney title in five tries for UCI, which qualified for the first NCAA Tournament in program history.

UCI coach Russell Turner expects in the future to see more of the scrambling, frenetic style that made Hawaii such a challenge to game-plan for this season.

"You know, give Benjy Taylor great credit for what he’s done with that team this year," Turner said. "They have a distinctive style that fits perfectly to their personnel. They’re disruptive, they’re very difficult to play. He’s done an outstanding job building an identity with that team. And they’re young, so they should be good for a long time. It’s not easy to take care of the ball against Hawaii. They’re quick, they’re strong, they are attacking. But we did that against them, and that was the reason we were able to win."

Davis (10 points, 10 rebounds) became the first player to record three double-doubles in a single Big West tournament. He picked up tourney MVP honors. Sophomore guard Luke Nelson had a big 3-pointer to go up 59-52 with 1:25 to play as part of his 17 points and all-tournament honors.

The future is unclear for Taylor, the former associate head coach who took over at the season’s start when Gib Arnold was fired on Oct. 28. Taylor has said he will apply for the permanent coaching job once it is posted.

"We were eight to 10 minutes away from finishing it," Taylor said. "But we’ll get better, we’ll come back and next year we’ll win it for G (Nevels) and the rest of the guys in that locker room."

Junior point guard Roderick Bobbitt, the Big West Defensive Player of the Year, recorded his 100th steal of the season and made the all-tournament team. He said he’d be in favor of Taylor returning.

"Yeah. But I can’t make the choice," Bobbitt said. "So I mean, what happens, happens."

Halftime — Hawaii 33, UC Irvine 29

3-point goals — Hawaii 8-21 (Valdes 3-4, Nevels 2-4, Fleming 2-5, Webster-Chan 1-3, Bobbitt 0-2, Jankovic 0-3). UC Irvine 5-20 (Dimakopoulos 1-1, Martin 1-3, Souza 1-3, Nelson 1-5, Young 1-5, Wright 0-3). Steals — Hawaii 5 (Bobbitt, Fleming, Jankovic, Nevels, Webster-Chan). UC Irvine 4 (Nelson 2, Wright 2). Turnovers — Hawaii 11 (Bobbitt 4, Fleming, Jovanovic, Nevels, Thomas, Valdes, Webster-Chan. TEAM). UC Irvine 9 (Ndiaye 3, Dimakopoulos 2, Davis, Martin, Nelson, Souza). Assists — Hawaii 13 (Bobbitt 6, Webster-Chan 3, Nevels 2, Smith, Valdes). 

UC Irvine 10 (Young 4, Nelson 2, Souza 2, Wright 2). Blocked shots — Hawaii 1 (Jankovic). UC Irvine 5 (Dimakopoulos 2, Ndiaye 2, Best). Technical fouls — Hawaii none. UC Irvine. Officials — Mike Scyphers, Tony Padilla, Michael Irving. A — 5,463.