For four or five hours — he wasn’t sure which — University of Hawaii guard Brocke Stepteau said he tossed and turned Saturday night and on into Sunday morning, reliving the disappointment of his opening-day performance in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

And, then, in his haste to do something about it, he picked up two quick fouls and spent much of the first half of Sunday’s game on the bench.

What he did thereafter paved the way for a 70-62 overtime victory over Colorado and helped assure himself, his teammates and Rainbow Warrior fans in general the opportunity for some precious Christmas morning sleep.

With the triumph, the ‘Bows avoid the dreaded 8 a.m. seventh-place game and the 6 a.m. wake-up call that comes with it.

Instead, they play at 10 a.m. for fifth place, no small consideration. “You don’t want to play in that early game,” teammate Jack Purchase said.

The way he assumed command in the overtime period was but the latest in a series of reminders why the ‘Bows call their smallest player, the 5-foot-9 Stepteau, “Late Clock Brocke,” as head coach Eran Ganot puts it.

UH outscored the Buffaloes 14-6 in the decisive five-minute overtime period and Stepteau directly contributed to 11 of the points. He scored five and provided assists on three-point shots by Drew Buggs and Purchase in addition to coming up with two rebounds and a steal.

For the game, he produced 13 points in 19 minutes of play on 5-for-10 field-goal shooting and did not contribute to UH’s nearly disasterous 17 turnovers.

With UH down by six points, 52-46 with two minutes, 35 seconds left in regulation, Stepteau ignited the comeback with a driving lay-in off the glass. Two minutes later he drove the key to give UH a 56-54 lead.

Then, to start the scoring in overtime, he came up with a scoop shot that brought the Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 2,265 to its feet.

“It became clear that he had that mojo going again,” Ganot said.

“He kinda had that naturally (coming to UH) and, now, he’s got the experience,” as a fifth-year senior, Ganot said. “I can’t tell you how great of a luxury it is to have a guy like him and Drew (Buggs) in the back court.”

Especially, it seems, when the ‘Bows play Pac-12 opponents. Stepteau had a game-high 24 points in UH’s 90-79 victory over Utah at the Wooden Legacy last month.

But Sunday it was a two-point performance in the 73-59 opening-round loss to Nevada-Las Vegas that gnawed at Stepteau long into the night. Not just because he had been averaging 11.1 points a game, but because of what he demands of himself.

“When I have a bad game and we lose I can’t really sleep,” Stepteau said. “It was tough to sleep (Saturday) night. I always think about things that I didn’t do or (what) I could have done better.”

In this case, that meant, “I couldn’t get to sleep until about 4:30 a.m. or 5. I didn’t feel that I brought the energy and intensity I needed to in such a big game. I felt like I let my team down,” Stepteau said.

When Ganot arrived in the tournament interview room Sunday he looked at the microphone set low on the dais before him and chuckled. “Brocke must have been here,” Ganot said.

Then, he added, “But he sure came up big, again.”

For the Rainbow Warriors that is something to sleep on.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820