The 2023-24 Hawaii men's basketball season is officially a wrap.

Head coach Eran Ganot confirmed to Spectrum News on Saturday that Friday's 68-65 loss to UC Davis in the Big West semifinals sent the Rainbow Warriors into the offseason at 20-14.

Athletic Director Craig Angelos considered extending the season in the pay-to-play College Basketball Invitational. UH has not appeared in a pay-to-play event since the  CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) in 2013. (The CIT is back this season from a multi-year absence.)

However, after conferring with Ganot, the two agreed not to pursue the 16-team event. Past CBI berths have reportedly cost teams $27,500. With a NET rating of 170, UH is far from consideration for the 32-team NIT.

"This is a team that's worthy of the postseason," Ganot said. "They've given us everything, to a point where (for) some there's not that much left." He mentioned forward Harry Rouhliadeff's absence after he hit his head on the floor in the Big West second-round victory over CSUN, as well as ongoing load management for point guard Juan Munoz.

A day removed, Ganot and UH were still smarting from Friday's outcome at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev., where the Rainbow Warriors had a go-ahead shot opportunity carom off the back iron in the final seconds.

JoVon McClanahan, a co-captain and one of the team's outgoing seniors, felt good about his 15-foot step-back elbow jumper when he let it go.

"I don't know, man. I thought it was in. But that's just basketball," he said with a shake of his head at the postgame press conference.

Ganot stood behind McClanahan, aligned with the basket when the attempt went up.

"Oh my God, I had the best look," he told Spectrum News. "From our standpoint (on the sideline), that was in. I think he said that, and because of his clutch history too. That's life sometimes."

Munoz's eight-year college career finally ended with a nine-point outing in his final game. To play his one full season at UH, he had to rehab ACL and Achilles injuries that sidelined him for two years. He emerged as a starter and key contributor in UH's midseason turnaround from a 2-6 Big West start to the No. 3 tournament seed.

"Everything I went through was worth it and I wouldn't change it for the world," said Munoz, who joined McClanahan at the postgame podium.

UH dropped to 0-2 in Big West semifinal games since the program recorded a banner 2015-16 campaign in Ganot's first year.

Ganot was asked in the postgame whether he felt good about his success in program building with Year 9 in the books despite the lack of postseason appearances over the last eight years. UH is 2-7 in Big West tournament games since going 3-0 in 2016. The 2020 tournament was nixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There's a balance there. I'm proud of what we've done on the floor," said Ganot, who is under contract through the 2025-26 season. "We can want more, too. I think we deserve it. Hawaii deserves it. Our fans deserve it.

"We've had a couple of these possession losses that could go either way. I don't want to overreact. It's a humbling game."

His staff's focus now turns to the program's heaviest rebuilding task since Ganot lost nearly every rotation player from the 2015-16 NCAA Tournament team while under the shadow of NCAA sanctions.

With the departures of five key players – McClanahan, Munoz, Noel Coleman, Justin McKoy and Bernardo da Silva – plus a reserve in Matthue Cotton, UH must replace nearly 80% of its scoring and 64% of its rebounding.

"In some ways (it's similar)," Ganot said. "We have a lot more ammo now than we did then. We have some key guys moving on, but we don't have that (investigation) hanging over our head."

Center Mor Seck's availability for the start of next season is also a question as he rehabs an ACL injury.

UH's returning contributors are slated to be wings Ryan Rapp and Tom Beattie, bigs Rouliadeff and Akira Jacobs, and point guard Kody Williams. Wing Matija Svetozarevic remained on the roster for a second season but appeared sparingly.

The program signed guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor of Salesian College Prep (Calif.) and, formerly of Iolani School and wing AJ Economou in the fall. Economou enrolled at UH out of the Southern California Academy at semester break and was a practice player in the spring.

Ganot said the team will pursue all means for restocking the roster between Division I transfers, junior college players, and internationals, and try to sell those prospects on immediate opportunities to make an impact.

"We like what we have coming back, what we have coming in and what we're going to add in this recruiting class," Ganot said. "We're working the phones and talking about each of us (as a staff), where we're going, when, and also being fluid and mobile because the spring is very … volatile."

He said he will be traveling for the foreseeable future, possibly through the Final Four in Phoenix.

Coleman finished at 1,271 points for seventh on the UH career scoring chart and his 184 3-pointers ranked second, behind only Jack Purchase (199). Da Silva's 1,019 points ranked 17th, his 679 rebounds fifth and 84 blocks ninth. McClanahan's 366 assists ranked fifth.

McKoy's .879 free-throw percentage (87-for-99) tied for second-best for a UH season with Bobby Nash from 2007-08.

Da Silva's .604 season field-goal percentage (151-for-250) was third-best for any UH player, behind only Phil Martin (.627 in 2000-01) and Isaac Fotu (.623 in 2012-13).

Correction: A previous version of the story referred to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament as defunct. The CIT is back in a new format in 2024.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.