Rainbows were running on fumes

Ever wondered what it might would look like if the Energizer Bunny finally ran out of juice?

Well, it probably would be a lot like this: Michigan 88, Hawai'i 73 yesterday in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament.

After going and going, the Rainbow Warriors' improbable postseason run ended when they hit the inevitable wall in Ann Arbor, Mich.

After traveling some 42,000 miles this season, the bulk of it in the past six weeks, they went until they could go no more against the resurgent Wolverines.

Forty-six hours after UH stepped off the floor at the Stan Sheriff Center with a victory over Nebraska, the Rainbows were, despite their best efforts, calling it a season four time zones and 4,449 miles away at 21-12.

A journey into frequent-flier history that began four months ago for UH ended last night a mere 482 miles short of the immediate goal, Madison Square Garden, site of the NIT semifinals.

While the hope against the odds was that UH would find its third or fourth wind of the season and somehow, some way get out of Crisler Arena to play another day in the Big Apple, the reality was it just plain ran out of gas in the vicinity of highway I-94 West against an unforgiving Wolverine team.

Officially, time ran out on this Cinderella-hopeful a little after 11 p.m. (Eastern). But for all intents and purposes, the beginning of the end of this sometimes remarkable season came with 16 minutes, 4 seconds remaining in the second half.

That was when the Wolverines made their move, coming up with steals on consecutive plays and scoring twice in the span of 33 seconds, giving the deafening crowd of 10,306 the knockout it had been waiting for and the NIT committee the Michigan presence in the semifinals it had blueprinted with three consecutive home games.

Guard Daniel Horton parlayed the thefts into streaking fast-break layups, taking what had been a none-too-secure six-point lead and turning it into a suddenly commanding 10-point advantage at 53-43.

Never again would the 'Bows get closer than seven points and the only opportunities they had at closing the gap disappeared when, their legs lagging and their fatigue showing, they were unable to hit timely jump shots.

"Those guys (the Rainbows) fought hard," Horton told reporters. "To say they flew (so far) in such a short time (to get to Michigan), you could see at the end of the game they were tired."

As instructive as it was destructive, the most telling statistic of the night would be the 20 points — 12 in the second half — the Wolverines got by recycling turnovers into points. Eleven of UH's 14 turnovers were the result of Michigan thefts.

One of these days the Rainbows are going to break through the barrier that has now denied them a return to New York. But last night wasn't the night and Michigan wasn't going to be the opponent.

Nor, as this postseason underlined, will it probably come in any year in which the Rainbows have to hopscotch across the country with more than one road game to do it.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.