In the final edit, Texas A&M Commerce denied Hawaii in a 53-51 basketball victory in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

A Wednesday night crowd of 2,176 watched the Rainbow Warriors appear to take the lead in the final fraction of a second.

The ‘Bows, who trailed by as many 14 in the second half, closed to 53-51 when Noel Coleman hit a 3 from the left corner with 1.8 seconds to play.

The Lions’ ensuing inbounds pass went to 6-foot-9 forward Alex Peavy, who caught it near the sideline in front of the scorer’s table. Peavy tossed the ball back in. UH guard JoVon McClanahan grabbed the ball and swished an apparent go-ahead 3.

But after a review, it was ruled the ball Peavy was holding had touched referee Mark Fulton, who had a shoe out of bounds. That meant the ball also was out of bounds, the play was dead, and McClanahan’s ensuing shot did not count.

“I thought I was in,” Peavy said of where he caught the ball. “But I did hit the ref (with the ball). It was crazy.”

UH was awarded possession under the TAMCU basket with 1.8 seconds put back on the clock. The ‘Bows inbounded to Kamaka Hepa, whose 3-point attempt from the top of the key fell short as the final horn sounded. It was the ‘Bows’ sixth airball, including Benardo da Silva’s off-line free-throw attempt.

Of the controversial sequence, UH coach Eran Ganot said, “it was bang-bang. You’ve got to watch the film. I trust (the referees). That’s not the topic of the game. It wasn’t anything we can control. The focus now is we need to play with more fight and spirit and focus on both ends.”

The Lions improved to 4-4 in their seventh away game. They are in the first of a four-year transition period after ascending from Division II to Division I this academic year. The Lions are not eligible for postseason competition during the transition. They used this as essentially their bowl game.

“They came in ready to compete, and we didn’t,” Hepa said. “Not necessarily the physicality aspect. Just the ‘want’ to compete. That’s what we lacked today, and that’s what they had.”

The Lions controlled the tempo, looking for paint-thinning shots. They scored 20 points in the paint. They also were hungry Lions on the boards, constructing a 43-31 advantage in rebounds, including 13-4 on the offensive glass. The ‘Bows did not have an offensive rebound in the first half.

“The boards were a big part of where you see the competition and the toughness,” Ganot said. “We weren’t even in the ballpark.”

In their worst first half of the season, the ‘Bows shot 5-for-23, with all the field goals produced by the post players. The guards and wings combined to shoot 0-for-13 in the first 20 minutes.

“We defended OK,” Ganot said. “We were fortunate they missed some shots. The offense was really poor to start the game. Eventually, we found a flow. But we missed shots. Our rebounding was gross. Our effort level was disappointing. I’m concerned if making shots dictates our effort. We should be past that.”

Coleman found his groove after the intermission, hitting three 3s and finishing with 18 points. The Warriors also were able to cool the Lions’ offense, which employs two point guards in the lineup, and navigate a hounding man-to-man defense.

“We outcompeted them for, maybe, the last minute,” Ganot said. “They outcompeted us for 39. We were fortunate to be in the game, to be honest. It was very disappointing.”

Peavy said: “We stuck together. We’ve been in a lot of close games. We’ve got experience staying together in close games.”