ANAHEIM, CALIF. » Hawaii was on the razor’s edge as the minutes ticked down against Long Beach State.

Another Big West tournament collapse at the Honda Center likely meant the Rainbow Warriors were cut for the season. Coach Benjy Taylor’s tenure in Manoa might have been over and UH would have been left to ponder more what-ifs as it awaited its offseason NCAA sentencing.

But Taylor’s Rainbows fought on, and so they shall play on.

Fifth-seeded UH (21-12) rallied from a six-point second-half deficit with some swarming smallball to defeat No. 4 LBSU 79-72 in the Big West quarterfinals. The Rainbows will face top-seeded UC Davis (25-5) in a 3:30 p.m. semifinal on Friday. It was just the second time UH won a conference tournament game in its past 11 chances, going back to 2005.

"We didn’t come here to win one game," Taylor said. It was a mantra repeated several times in the game’s aftermath.

Taylor said he realizes that even with Thursday’s win, UH’s only route to postseason play is very straightforward.

"I just think unfortunately a decision’s been made that we have to win this whole thing in order to continue playing," he said. "I think we deserve to play for a long, long time. I don’t want this season to end. Whether that’s going to the Final Four and winning the whole thing, or whether that’s tomorrow (Friday). I don’t want this season to end. This is a postseason tournament-type team."

UH will be challenged against UC Davis. The teams split the two regular-season meetings, each team winning on its home court.

Thursday’s win was uncharted territory for the Rainbows. It was the first Big West tournament victory for UH, which joined the California-based league in 2012. Twenty-one victories for Hawaii is the program’s most since the Michael Kuebler-led 2003-04 squad went 21-12 and reached the NIT quarterfinals.

Four Rainbows scored in double figures, led by senior Garrett Nevels’ 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Aaron Valdes (6-for-9) had all of his 14 points in the first half, Isaac Fleming (5-for-9) came off the bench to score 11, dish four assists and grab five rebounds and Quincy Smith chipped in 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field with five big boards.

"It’s one of the best feelings right now, compared to last year, losing in the first round (to Cal State Northridge)," Valdes said. "It’s exciting. We’re going to come out (Friday) ready to play."

Nevels had the go-ahead basket on a runner with 3:52 to play.

With its big men in foul trouble most of the way, UH seized control down the stretch with a return to the smallball seen early in the season. Smith and point guard Roderick Bobbitt, the Big West Defensive Player of the Year, came up huge with timely steals as UH made a stand in the last 10 minutes.

The Rainbows’ pressure defense occasionally flummoxed the 49ers.

Neither team could buy a 3-point shot in the second half; it increasingly became a battle of agility inside.

"Our bigs just weren’t rebounding," Taylor said. "I don’t know if it was fatigue or, they have a pretty quick front line, so I just tried to match their quickness and it worked because, it wasn’t necessary here" — he reached high — "it was side-to-side type stuff. So long rebounds, the 50-50 balls, we weren’t getting to those early in the game."

UH still controlled most of the first half with effective shooting (56.7 percent) and ball pressure. It led 47-41 at the break.

"It’s tough to go out this quick," LBSU coach Dan Monson said. "We struggled early defensively. (Hawaii is) a very talented team, they certainly deserve the win. They hit us early and we didn’t have an answer. Giving up 47 points in the first half is just about the most we’ve given up all season. We kind of slowed them down with the zone and the last 10 minutes (when UH rallied), I don’t know if it was fatigue."

Long Beach State (16-17) charged hard in the second half and overtook UH with 11:54 to play.

"We just stayed together out there," Valdes said. "We knew they were going to make a run in the second half. We just gotta keep our composure and I think we did that."

The 49ers got 27 points from all-league point guard Mike Caffey, but only six came in the second half.

"I wasn’t discouraged at all," said Bobbitt, who held Caffey in check as the teams split their two regular-season meetings. "Just had to keep getting after him and try to make him get tired as much as possible. My teammates helped me do a great job in the second half."

Forward David Samuels added 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Beach outrebounded UH 42-31.

The Beach went up six, 64-58, but Fleming went behind his back and hit a tough runner in traffic, and Bobbitt followed up with a steal and layup. Fleming scored inside to tie it back up at 64 with 7:20 to play.

Bobbitt scored inside on a third effort to tie it up at 68. Smith had a huge steal and hit two 1-and-1 free throws for a 70-68 lead with 4:24 left.

Caffey tied it for the last time on a jumper, then UH outscored LBSU 9-2 to close it out.

Halftime — Hawaii 47, LBSU 41 

3-point goals — Hawaii 6-20 (Nevels 3-6,  Valdes 2-4, Jankovic 1-2, Bobbitt 0-2, Fleming 0-2, Webster-Chan 0-4). Long Beach State 5-18 (Caffey 3-7, Lamb 1-2, Lasalle 1-6, Samuels 0-1, Jones 0-2). Steals — Hawaii 10 (Bobbitt 2, Nevels 2, Smith 2, Fleming, Jankovic, Jovanovic, Valdes). Long Beach State 4 (Caffey, Hammonds, Jones, Lamb). Turnovers — Hawaii 11 (Valdes 3, Jankovic 2, Nevels 2, Thomas 2, Bobbitt, Fleming). Long Beach State 17 (Caffey 6, Hammonds 3, Samuels 3, Jones 2, Lamb, Lasalle, TEAM). Assists — Hawaii 15 (Webster-Chan 6, Fleming 4, Bobbitt 3, Nevels, Valdes). Long Beach State 10 (Bibbins 2, Caffey 2, Jones 2, Lamb 2, Lasalle 2). Blocked shots — Hawaii 4 (Valdes 2, Jankovic, Thomas). Long Beach State none. Technical fouls — Hawaii none. Long Beach State none. Officials — Bill Vinovich, Rob Rorke, Martin Cichocki. A — NA.