The first chapter of the Nash era started with drama and was filled with excitement, but ended in frustration.

Gyno Pomare made one of two free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining to give San Diego a 73-72 victory over the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team last night.

A crowd of 4,623 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Warriors lose their first game with Bob Nash as head coach.

"We put ourselves in position to win with good hustle, good team defense," Nash said. "Unfortunately, we turned the ball over at an inopportune time."

With the score tied at 72, Hawai'i had possession of the ball and was working for a final shot. But Pomare stole the basketball from Hawai'i's Stephen Verwers, and then was fouled by Verwers as he drove downcourt for a possible layup.

He made the first free throw, missed the second, and Hawai'i could not get off a final shot.

"I didn't exactly have the big fella (Pomare) laying out for a steal and going coast to coast," USD coach Bill Grier said. "But it's a heck of a play, and a heady play, by him."

The Rainbow Warriors, who trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half, got double-figure points from four seniors.

Bobby Nash scored a game-high 22, and also grabbed nine rebounds. Jared Dillinger added 14 points and four steals. Verwers and Riley Luettgerodt each finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

But Hawai'i played without one key senior. It was announced a few hours before the game that starting point guard Matt Gibson would not play because of an injured left knee.

"We're not going to make any excuses," Bob Nash said. "We played with a lot of different lineups in practice."

Grier said: "When you lose a player like that, especially in the first game, that's a big blow. We knew how good a player he is. He's a veteran and he provides great leadership and that's what you need early in the season. The thing we were worried about was Hawai'i being a wounded animal and them rallying around an injured guy like that."

In the absence of Gibson, the 'Bows went with a makeshift starting lineup that featured Bobby Nash at point guard, Luettgerodt at shooting guard, Dillinger at small forward, sophomore Bill Amis at power forward, and Verwers at center.

"We went with a big lineup and that kind of slowed us down in terms of being able to run our transition game," Bob Nash said.

The Toreros took a 37-23 lead late in the first half, thanks in part to 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.

"First half, I thought we came out and were a little tentative in some of our defensive principles and got ourselves in a little bit of a hole," Bob Nash said.

The 'Bows cut the USD lead to 40-33 at intermission, and then Nash inserted true freshman Kareem Nitoto at point guard to start the second half.

"In the first half, I thought he was a little jittery," Nash said of Nitoto. "But we needed somebody to push the ball ... He gave us that engine that we needed to be successful."

Nitoto finished with just three points on 1-of-10 shooting, but helped limit USD point guard Brandon Johnson to six points in the second half.

"Even though he didn't score a lot, I thought he showed he can play on-ball defense against one of the best players in their conference," Nash said.

Johnson scored 13 in the first half, including 3-of-3 shooting from 3-point range.

The 'Bows trailed by as many as eight midway through the second half, but rallied to tie the score at 70 on a 3-pointer by Dillinger with 1:31 remaining.

"I did take a little bit to find my shot," Dillinger said. "But I was able to hit some big shots and that helped put us in a good situation at the end."

Hawai'i took its first lead of the entire game with 43 seconds remaining when Luettgerodt drove to the basket for a layup.

Pomare tied it at 72 with a short jump shot on USD's ensuing possession.

The 'Bows appeared to be setting up a last-second shot for Nash when Pomare made the decisive steal.

Grier said he did not instruct Pomare to intentionally miss the second free throw.

"I don't believe in that," Grier said. "But as it turned out, it worked in our favor. The ball bounced around a little and Hawai'i couldn't set up."

Johnson scored 19 to lead the Toreros, and Pomare contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds.

It was also the head coaching debut for Grier, who was an assistant at Gonzaga for 16 years prior to this season.

Hawai'i will play another home game on Friday against perennial Big Ten contender Illinois.

Nash said he hopes to have Gibson ready for next week's game.

"It's not a prolonged injury," Nash said. "It's just a matter of getting a little bit of rest."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.