Hawaii led San Francisco just about the whole way, except the 7.3 seconds that mattered most.

The Rainbow Warriors’ first postseason run in seven years came to a stunning end at the hands of the Dons, who rallied from a five-point deficit in the final minute for a 77-74 win in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament second round last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

UH (19-13) was on the verge of packing for the CIT quarterfinals at Santa Clara on Tuesday. Instead, they’ll pack it in for the season, rueing the maddening March finish to their otherwise successful campaign under first-year coach Gib Arnold.

San Francisco (19-14) scored first, then fell behind for the next 38 minutes as UH did an effective job of stifling the Dons’ four-out, one-in offense. But USF freshman guard Cody Doolin had the last word, scoring the back-to-back takes to the basket that proved decisive.

His first drive brought the Dons to within 74-73, then after a long miss on a Zane Johnson corner 3-pointer, Doolin scored again in transition with 7.3 seconds left for the go-ahead points.

The Rainbows led throughout, but never comfortably, and that was a testament to USF’s resilience. UH was denied its first 20-win season since 2004, when UH advanced to the third round of the NIT. Suddenly, the crowd of about 6,000 realized Bill Amis, Hiram Thompson, and Douglas Kurtz were suited up as Rainbows for the last time.

“I’m gonna really miss this group,” Arnold said. “This has been a great year. It’s been a fun group to coach. A group that came together and played their hearts out every night, including tonight.”

USF advanced to face WCC rival Santa Clara in the quarterfinals.

Besides free-throw shooting (16-for-25) and the incredibly painful finish, UH played well enough to win. Five Rainbow Warriors — center Vander Joaquim, forwards Amis, Trevor Wiseman and Joston Thomas, and guard Johnson — scored either 13 or 12 points.

Amis closed strong after battling through foot injuries each of the last two seasons. He grabbed 13 rebounds to end his career with his 10th career double-double. Wiseman, considered a big part of UH’s future success, scored a career-high 13 points.

“We did everything we needed to do to win that game except win it,” Amis said. “I’m still stunned. We gave that game away, at the free throw line and not getting stops.”

All-WCC guard Rashad Green punished UH with 22 points on

7-for-10 shooting and grabbed 15 rebounds despite standing just

6-foot-4.

On USF, Amis said: “They did what it took to win the game on the road you kind of want to grind out a win. Stayed around, took our punches.”

UH, a top-10 team nationally in field-goal defense, held the Dons to 34.7 percent shooting from the floor, including a nightmarish 3-for-18 effort by top scorer Michael Williams. Another key starter, forward Angelo Caloiaro, shot 1-for-9.

That appeared to be enough until some late defensive lapses. USF scored on six straight possessions to close out the game, most notably on three free throws by Green when Wiseman bit on a 3-point pump fake.

Sixteen Dons offensive rebounds and 10 steals among 18 UH turnovers ultimately took their toll. And, of course, Doolin, the lanky frosh who put in 13 points.

“He’s very good in that (late-game) situation,” USF coach Rex Walters said. “He’s won games like that, Gonzaga, Santa Clara. He’s been in those situations so he’s not your typical freshman and it’s really no longer his freshman year. He’s been through 30 battles now and been in that situation a lot. He definitely stepped up to the plate. (Our offense) allows him to do that because we have guys on the perimeter who can all spread you out and shoot it.”

When Michael Williams drove to the basket and Johnson was whistled for an intentional foul with 2:32 to go, the momentum was on USF’s side. The basket counted, though Williams missed one of the two ensuing free throws USF got only three of a possible six or seven points out of the extended possession.

Point guard Miah Ostrowski re-established control for the hosts when he raced down the court for a basket whistled good on a goaltend with 2:25 left. Even after Joaquim sank a free throw for a 71-64 advantage with 1:41 to go, the Dons still wouldn’t go away.

They rallied to within 74-71 on a Rashad Green putback with 1:01 left, setting the stage for Doolin’s heroics.

On UH’s last possession, Ostrowski raced up the court and tried a post pass to Amis, but the ball went out of bounds back to USF with a second left.

UH broke open a 19-10 lead with excellent ball distribution in the first 8 minutes of play. But in no time, the Dons capitalized off UH turnovers to tie it at 19.

Then Thomas gave the ’Bows a huge boost off the bench. He completed two of three possible three-point plays in the first half alone to keep his team in front.

Ostrowski gave UH a 40-31 lead on a floating bank shot with just over a minute left. But UH was robbed of momentum heading into the break with a Dons tip-in and a Cody Doolin fast-break layup to beat the buzzer. UH caught a break when the Doolin basket was waved off after the fact and the score read 40-33.