For the first time in a decade, the Hawaii men’s basketball team is NCAA Tournament-bound.

Punctuated by Dre Bullock’s breakaway windmill two-hand slam in the final seconds, the second-seeded Rainbow Warriors defeated top-seeded nemesis UC Irvine, 71-64, in the title game of the Credit Union 1 Big West Championships at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev., on Saturday night.

UH (24-8) awaits Sunday’s NCAA Selection Show at noon Hawaii time for its seeding and destination for its sixth all-time appearance in the Big Dance, and first since coach Eran Ganot’s debut season in 2015-16.

The 2-0 performance in Henderson — UH’s second-place regular-season finish allowed it a double bye straight into the semifinals — represented a dramatic reversal of a series of March shortcomings for the program, including a failure to qualify for the Big West championships at all last year.

Ganot is coaching out the final year of his contract. An extension with first-year Athletic Director Matt Elliott is now a distinct possibility as UH heads to the Mountain West Conference next season.

The 11th-year coach appeared stoic, almost subdued, in the final seconds as staff members and players around him — many of whom were brought in last offseason to be difference makers in their final years in college basketball — leaped in elation.

“There’s nothing like sitting on the bench taking it all in and watching these kids smile,” Ganot said in the Big West’s postgame press conference. “That’s undefeated. Nothing can ever pass that.”

Three members of his staff — Gibson Johnson, JoVon McClanahan and Juan Munoz — are his former players who were part of the program’s past postseason shortcomings. Munoz hijacked the Big West media microphone and asked Ganot a tongue-in-cheek question about his lack of rah-rah.

“The emotions came in when the buzzer sounded,” replied Ganot with a smile. “I appreciate your question. Respect you quite a bit. And it’d be nice if you helped me keep composure on the bench. Thank you for your time.”

Center Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson scored 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots en route to tournament Most Valuable Player honors.

Johnson recalled the full court press put on by assistant coach Gibson Johnson when he entered the transfer portal from Utah State. But what sold him on UH, he said, was the rollocking crowd at UH men’s volleyball game last spring — and that UH was the only Division I team in town, a distinction clear from the dominant green-clad crowd in the building Saturday.

“We were the hottest thing in Hawaii, and now we’re the hottest thing in the Big West,” said Johnson, who broke out his signature “chomp” celebration after back-to-back 3s in the first half. “It really was the coaches and the guys. So, I’m definitely glad I chose to come here.”

Forward Harry Rouhliadeff had 15 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double in two conference tournament games, and Bullock added 15 points and four steals as those two joined Johnson on the all-tournament team.

All three of those college hoops veterans took to the postgame interview podium. They agreed that their stunning senior night loss to a 10-win Long Beach State team — a setback that cost UH a share of just the fourth regular-season conference title in program history — was a blessing in disguise.

“As much as it hurts to say, that loss was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to us. It kept us grounded,” Rouhliadeff, the team captain and four-year Rainbow from Brisbane, said with one of the arena’s nets draped around his neck.

Chimed in Bullock, the journeyman from Franklinton, N.C., who at last found the right home after five previous collegiate stops, “We were kind of feeling ourselves a little bit during that run, but we learned from (the LBSU loss), watched film, grow from it, and we brought our energy to Vegas and shifted gears quickly.”

Johnson, the American Fork, Utah, native who felt undervalued with his previous teams, summed it up thusly: “If not getting a ring that night meant getting a win tonight, I’ll take it 100 times out of 100. We used that as fuel and we locked in this week. During practices we got a littie bit of our swag back. We joked around, were happy and got the mood back up, but we were locked in, which was the most important part. We knew personnel, we knew sets, and the coaches did an amazing job of preparing us. I think that game exposed us a little bit, and showed us what we needed to fix. So, here we are.”

Others had meaningful contributions. Acting point guard Hunter Erickson notched eight assists against four turnovers, while backup guard Isaiah Kerr supplied 10 important points. Sixth man Gytis Nemeiksa was scoreless but helped set the physical tone early and finished with three of his team’s 10 blocked shots.

The path to Saturday’s glory was not direct. UH lost projected starting point guard Tanner Cuff to an ACL injury five days before the start of the season and its other primary ball-handler Aaron Hunkin-Claytor went down with a toe injury in January. Another player, forward Jalen Myers, left at semester break, leaving only 10 available players.

They were undergirded by a surprisngly strong bond for a team that had nine newcomers, Bullock said.

“We did a lot of crazy stuff. Swam with sharks together,” he said. “I mean, we’ve been through it all. Credit to my teammates, coaches. Me honestly, it’s all about family and trust. It’s not always 100% about basketball.”

UCI (23-11), the Big West’s most consistent program, went cold down the stretch, making only two of its final 13 shots. 

UH kept attacking the interior against the Big West Best Defensive Player Kyle Evans to compile a 34-24 advantage in paint points. The nation’s leading shot blocker had 13 points, 10 rebounds and three swats. Guard Jurian Dixon led UCI with 17 points.

It was UH’s first tournament win over UCI and coach Russell Turner. The Anteaters were previously 3-0 against UH in such games, including the 2015 BWC final in the season before Ganot took over the program.

Turner congratulated and credited UH in the teams’ final meeting as Big West members. As he spoke, a muffled version of the Manoa fight song was audible from out on the floor. As good and consistent as UCI has been in regular seasons with eight such titles in the Turner era, it was another disappointing finish to a tournament; UCI dropped to 2-5 in Big West finals under Turner.

Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly indicated to Spectrum News before Saturday’s final that the losing team is expected to get an invite to the NIT.

“I thought our youth showed tonight. In some ways we didn’t take good enough care of the ball,” Turner said. “Some of that is us. A lot of the credit for that is Hawaii (and) the defensive level they played with and maintained. It was a back-and-forth game where we had chances to win, but Hawaii made more plays and more shots than we did. They outscored us both from the 3-point line and the paint. That’s unusual, but again that’s a credit to them.”

The game between the familiar foes — UH won in Honolulu on Erickson’s game-winner, while the Anteaters prevailed in overtime in Irvine — was a defensive grind early as both teams shot under 30% for much of the first half.

UH led by as many as eight points and settled for a 31-30 halftime lead.

“It was a defensive battle. No surprise there,” Ganot said. “At halftime we were telling our guys it’s 50-50 on the winning plays. We’re up one on the boards. Are we trying to hang or are we trying to separate? And the winning plays went a little bit more in our favor the second half.”

Dixon splashed a 3 to open the second half and the lead seesawed several times from there.

In a pivotal play, Johnson pinned an Evans layup attempt on the backboard and Erickson found an open Bullock for a 3 and a 42-38 lead with 16 minutes left.

Johnson’s backup Yacine Toumi grabbed an offensive rebound and froze Evans with a spin move and bucket for a six-point lead. But emboldened Toumi missed two midrange jumpers and UCI capitalized with a 6-0 run to tie it at 44.

Kerr, a transfer from Division II Chico State not known for his outside shooting, splashed back-to-back right-wing 3 for a 50-46 advantage.

UCI drew even at 50, but UH went on a 7-0 spurt with Johnson putting in back-to-back buckets and Erickson hitting a 3 for his first points.

UCI guard Jovan Jester Jr. appeared to shove UH’s inactive point guard Tanner Cuff as the teams headed into a timeout with under eight minutes left. Officials reviewed footage and called offsetting technical fouls on Jester and the UH bench; Cuff should not have been that far out on the floor, according to the officials’ reasoning relayed to the ESPN broadcast.

The Anteaters scored inside on back-to-back possessions and Ganot called for time. Rouhliadeff dove in for a layup and Evans answered with a tip-in at the other end.

Rouhliadeff splashed a wide-open 3 from the top of the arc for a six-point lead with under six minutes left, but Anteaters veteran Andre Henry hit a deep shot at the other end.

Bullock went for a tomahawk stuff in traffic and smashed it off the back iron but Johnson put back a Rouhliadeff miss to keep the margin at five.

“What resolve our kids showed when UC Irvine made their runs, as they are as a championship-caliber program,” Ganot said.

Both teams missed a series of shots until Johnson drove for a layup and a seven-point lead with 1:30 left.

Bullock missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Evans converted a three-point play to get UCI within 66-62 with 53 seconds to go.

UH turned it over but Bullock elevated to spike an attempt off the backboard with 41 seconds left and the ball went out. UCI’s Evans scored on the inbounds, but Rouhliadeff countered quickly on a look ahead from Johnson.

Irvine guard Derin Saran missed a 3 and UCI appeared to attempt to take a foul on UH’s rebound but none was called. Bullock kept going upcourt and threw down his highlight dunk to seal the outcome with 16.7 seconds left.

When Rouhliadeff missed a free throw in the final 10 seconds, UH still scrambled for it, came up with it, and Kerr skipped as he dribbled it out. The celebration was on.

Note: This story has been updated with details and quotes.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.