The Rainbow Warriors may or may not have ended their season yesterday with a 70-68 loss to Rice in the quarterfinals of the McCaffrey Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Save Mart Center.

Hawai'i athletic director Herman Frazier and WAC commissioner Karl Benson said last night that they would lobby to get the 'Bows into the National Invitation Tournament.

The 'Bows are 19-11 and have lost three consecutive games. Hawai'i got invited to the NIT last season after finishing 18-11.

"We've already put in a bid to host first- and second- round games," Frazier said. "And I've already contacted people from the NIT twice in the last two days, so they know about us."

The 40-team NIT field will be announced Sunday, shortly after the NCAA announces its 65-team field.

"It wasn't something we were looking forward to, but now that we don't have anything else, it looks pretty good," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said of the NIT.

At least five teams from the WAC are in contention for postseason play — Hawai'i, Nevada, Rice, Texas-El Paso and Boise State. Wallace said Hawai'i's NIT chances may depend on the other four contenders.

"If this league doesn't get at least two into the NCAA (Tournament), it's a crying shame," he said.

Benson said "the criteria for the NIT is not the same as the NCAA," so Hawai'i could still be an attractive choice.

"Hawai'i has some name recognition, ESPN has shown that it likes Hawai'i, and the NIT has selected Hawai'i before," Benson said. "Those are some big factors."

The Hawai'i players said after yesterday's loss that they would like at least one more shot this season.

"As a senior, you don't ever want it to end," said co-captain Phil Martin. "I thought we played good enough to win (yesterday) and I definitely would like to see how we might do against some other teams outside the WAC."

Last season, Hawai'i was selected by the NIT to play on the road. The 'Bows won at UNLV, then lost at Minnesota.

• Sharpshooter: Senior guard Michael Kuebler made three 3-pointers yesterday, increasing his season total to 87.

It is the second-best single-season mark in school history, behind only the 89 3-pointers made by Carl English last season. Kuebler also ranks fifth on UH's career 3-pointer list with 133.

• Ironman: Senior forward Phil Martin started his 100th consecutive game yesterday. He also grabbed eight rebounds to increase his career total to 606, which ranks No. 5 on UH's all-time list. Teammate Haim Shimonovich is No. 4 with 612.

• Wearing green: About 500 Hawai'i fans attended yesterday's game, including former Fresno State head coach Jerry Tarkanaian. He sat in the UH cheering section, and wore a green sweater.

• Coming home: Only half the team was able to get on flights out of Fresno today. The rest of the team is expected to return tomorrow.