A thriller! A last-minute postseason win! There should be rioting in the streets, fans storming the court, Gatorade drenching Cal coach Ben Braun. Right?

No, it wasn't quite an electric atmosphere. It was about as electric as a preseason high school basketball game played at the same time as the season premier of the sixth season of Lost.

There were 1,906 people at Haas Pavilion last night. Yes, 1,906. At a major college basketball game on ESPN 2. But nevertheless, the few in attendance were treated to a helluva show.

The Bears showed grit down the stretch, fending off New Mexico's J.R. Giddens and a late Lobos run to stave off elimination.

It was probably the best finish of the season, with Jamal Boykin first grabbing an offensive rebound with 30 seconds left and then drawing a foul with 3.7 seconds left to clinch the win.

Senior DeVon Hardin played some of his best defense of the season. He harassed Giddens, New Mexico's top scorer and a former McDonald's All-American, after switching to guard him midway through the first half. Hardin did foul out with 6:36 left, but bothered the smaller and quicker Giddens with his length and lateral agility.

With Cal up 51-46, Giddens drove baseline, but Hardin cut him off, forcing Giddens to desperately throw the ball nearly to halfcourt. Later in the possession, with the shot clock winding down, Hardin forced Giddens into a contested fadeaway three-pointer. Airball.

The much-maligned Bears finally showed some promise on the defensive end in the first half, holding the three-point-shooting Lobos to 29 points on 35.5 percent shooting.

But for most of the game, despite Cal's hard-fought performance, I was left wondering why I should even care about what transpired in front of me. I cringe to say this, but maybe former Bears player and current Internet blogger/goofball/party-animal-wishing-he-never-left-college Rod Benson is more qualified than I am to judge the "other" postseason tournaments.

He recounted a time when Braun took him aside in practice and told him that he knows what he takes to win a national title, since he won the NIT. Benson was left scratching his head and wondering if that really counts as a national title. His answer, and mine: a resounding, emphatic no.

After all, isn't winning an NIT title just crowing the 66th-best team in the country, the guys that came up short of any established program's goal but still want to feel like they win something?

"I bet coach Braun would like to have a CBI banner in the gym," Benson wrote. "Why not? Go get it done then. If it doesn't work out, there's always Cabo."

The players apparently weren't ready for spring break quite yet. After the win, they thanked the fans in attendance, exchanging high-fives and hugs after the nail-biter. It was a somewhat-touching show of support, an effort by the players to thank the few loyal fans that decided to shell out five bucks to watch the game.

Their reward for the win is a bout with Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio on Monday. The national runner-ups from last season actually do know what it's like to play late in a meaningful postseason tournament, which should make the match-ups a great learning experience for the Bears.

I don't think last night's game quite qualifies as a taste of the postseason. That begins today, when the NCAA Tournament kicks off.

Tags: NIT