BELMONT, Calif.—UH Hilo led for 19 minutes and 46 seconds of the second half, but host Notre Dame de Namur slipped in and stole the contest with back-to-back buckets by Omar Lo in the final minute to nip visiting Hawai`i Hilo, 66-64 on Monday night at the Walter Gleason Gymnasium.

The Argonauts snapped a five-game losing streak with the win. Included in that string was a loss to the Vulcans on January 3 in Hilo, 73-65. In that game, the Vulcans had the services of the junior post tandem of Devin Johnson and Denhym Brooke. Tonight, they did not (Johnson injured, Brooke grades).

UH Hilo is now 3-4 in the Pacific West Conference and 4-10 overall. The Argonauts improved to 2-7 in the PacWest and to 3-11 on the season.

Lo tied the game on a follow-up dunk with 43 seconds left (64-64) and then won the contest for the Argonauts on a lay-up with 14 seconds remaining. The Vulcans didn't get a solid final look and had to settle for a desperation shot in traffic as time expired.

UH Hilo's last field goal came with 2:08 left on a driving basket by Anthony Canencia.

The Vulcans were led by Eric Wattree's career-high 18 points. The sophomore guard hit 5-of-11 three-point attempts. Randan Berinobis had a double-double with 14 points and ten rebounds, while Canencia added a collegiate-best 11 points, hitting five-of-six shots from the field.

Lo, a 6-9 post, finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

The Vulcans jumped out to a quick lead (10-4) in the first three and a half minutes, thanks in part to three-pointers by Wattree and Berinobis. NDNU answered with an 11-4 run to take a 15-14 lead on a Val Wilson trey.

The teams mostly traded leads after that, with UH Hilo always in contention because of Wattree's three-point accuracy. He would hit 4-of-8 launches in the first half, his fourth giving his team a 32-30 lead with 3:38 left in the half.

With a 34-31 cushion and time winding down, Trey Ingram launched a three-point attempt that missed, but he was fouled with less than a second left. He calmly nailed all three free throws to give the Vulcans a 37-31 lead at intermission.

The Vulcans led by as many as eight points early in the second half and still held a seven-point lead (58-51) after two free throws by Berinobis with 5:13 left.  NDNU's Wilson then nailed a three-pointer and a pair of free throws to pull his team within two points. Still, UH Hilo never trailed through Canencia's basket with just over two minutes left, until Lo's final two back breakers.

UH Hilo did not score in their final three possessions of the game.

The Vulcans will play the third game of this four-game swing in northern California with a Thursday game at Holy Names.  Start time is 7:30 p.m. Pacific (5:30 in Hawaii).