Multi table bust out - stupid or reasonable chance?

[LetsRock]

Played in several of the $7K tourneys at TGC this week. Most of them I catch decent cards for the first half, nurse my stack through the break and just run out of options to bust out around 70 or 80 of 220.

One time, I was on fire for the first 3/4 of the tourney and actually made it to the money. I was actually third on the chip leader list about midway, when I made a fateful TPTK call vs. what appeared to be a desperation raise from one of the chip middlings with a flopped set.

I fought back up a bit and then caught the wave of rags so all I could do was bleed down and hang on hoping a bunch of guys would get busted in a monster.

By the time we reach the hand n question, I was severely short stacked and was pretty much looking for a double up hand, but they just weren't coming. I was to the point where I was gonna blind out in about 11 hands so I was looking for anything.

UTG 88 - I open raise about half my stack (Looking back I probably should have shoved all-in, but that's not what I'm asking here) I figure if I get lots of callers and no flop, I can try to hang-on for one more hand. The table folds to SB (Tourney Chip Leader by tons, probly has me 50:1) he calls. (Great! it had to be him) The flop comes an awful AxK. He bets about half my remaining stack. Well this just stunk of steal. I hadn't been at the same table as him for all that long, but even I would have put a steal on in this situation.

If it was just one overcard I wouldn't have flinched. With 2 big cards I was a little unnerved, but after taking the microscopic time that I could to consider, I shoved them in hoping he was full of it. Of course he had the A and that's all there was. I didn't really chastise myself, when you're shortstacked ya gotta take a few chances (understatement).

Discounting the thought that I should have shoved all-in PF (I'm not sure that would have really mattered anyway, but I wished that I had done it), was it a reasonable call to put him on a steal and hope for the best, or should I have just packed it in and prayed for a handfull of monster hands in the next 10 minutes?

Thoughts appreciated.