HILO, Hawai`i—The Hawaii Hilo Vulcans relied on Mr. Inside, Mr. Outside and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to hold on for a 92-81 victory over BYU-Hawaii on Saturday night at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

Forward Brian Ishola pulled down 19 rebounds and scored 24 points to cover the paint, while Ryley Callaghan scored 26 points, almost half of them from the free throw line. The victory was the second in a row for the Vulcans, who improved to 8-14 overall and 6-10 in the Pacific West Conference. BYU-Hawaii fell to 5-17 overall and to 3-13 in conference play.

Parker Farris added 17 points and eight rebounds for UHH and freshman Eric Wattree was in double figures with 12. The Vuls converted 28 of 35 free throw attempts (80 percent). They hit 19-of-23 of those in the second half.

Defense was the name of the game in the first half. Both teams struggled to find their range. The Vulcans shot 37 percent in the first 20 minutes and the Seasiders were just a little better at 40 percent. Neither team led by more than four points in the first half, which was the margin BYU-Hawaii took into the locker room, 40-36.

The Vulcans warmed up in the second half.  A three-pointer and a regular basket by Wattree made it a two-point game five minutes in (53-51), jump starting his teammates. Randan Berinobis was next, hitting a trey and free throws to put the Vulcans into the lead.

Still, that lead was never more than six until Callaghan buried two free throws with 2:03 left. He added two more 10 seconds later (79-69) . Meanwhile at the other end of the court, the Seasiders went stone cold, going over three minutes without a field goal.

The Seasiders were playing in the Civic Auditorium for the final time, as BYU-Hawaii will be eliminating athletics at the end of the school year.
Gabriel Andrade led BYU-H with 14 points.

UH Hilo will play its final home of the 2016-17 season on Thursday, when they host Dixie State. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at the Civic Auditorium.