Vulcans return to work with PacWest home games
 
Hawai`i Hilo (3-7/2-1 PWC) vs. Notre Dame de Namur (2-8/1-3 PWC), Wednesday, Jan. 3, 7:30 p.m., Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, Hilo.
Hawaii Hilo vs. Academy of Art (4-8/3-3 PWC), Friday, Jan. 5, 7:30 p.m., Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, Hilo.
Live Stream/Live Stats/Audio link at www.hiloathletics.com
Radio AM 670 KPUA-Hilo
 
Hilo Headlines: After playing three games in three days to wrap up 2017, the Vulcans welcomed the NCAA Division II dead period and two weeks rest in between contests. They will now jump back into action with a pair of conference games against Notre Dame de Namur (Wednesday) and Academy of Art (Friday).
 
Listen In: Both games will be broadcast live on Am 670 KPUA-Hilo, with the pre-game show beginning ten minutes before tip-off at 7:20 p.m.
 
Goodbye 2017: After winning two games to kick off the PacWest season at the beginning of December over Biola and Concordia, the Vulcans limped into the end of the calendar year with three straight losses—one to league foe Chaminade (101-72) and two to holiday tournament teams Montana State-Billings (81-63) and Tampa (92-80). With all its non-conference games now behind them, they are 3-7 overall and 2-1 in the PacWest.
 
Riley's Ribs: Senior guard Ryley Callaghan played in only half of the Chaminade loss after injuring his ribs and did not play against Montana State-Billings. He gave it a go versus Tampa, but only lasted 11 minutes before getting nudged in the rib cage again. The Vulcans' leader should be good to go this week after two weeks off.
 
Stat Story: Callaghan's running mate and fellow senior guard Trey Ingram leads the Vulcans in scoring at 16.6 points per game. Three other players are in double figures, with Callaghan next at 14.3, followed by Denhym Brooke (10.9) and Devin Johnson (10.6). Brooke is the team's leading rebounder at 6.5, followed by Johnson (5.9) and Randan Berinobis (5.8).
 
PacWest Listings: Transfers Trey Ingram (Saint Martin's) and Denhym Brooke (BYU-Hawaii) are among the PacWest leaders in several stat categories. Ingram is sixth in the conference in scoring (16.6), fifth in three-pointers made per game (2.8) and seventh in free throw percentage (.829). Brooke is second in blocked shots (1.9) and 14<sup>th</sup> in rebounding. Fellow transfer Devin Johnson (Lower Columbia CC) is fourth in blocked shots (1.3). Ryley Callaghan is second in the league in free throw percentage (.923) and three-point accuracy (.426).
 
Top 25 Love: Coach GE Coleman's team apparently loves to play teams in the Top 25. The Vulcans are 2-0 in such games this season, having topped Western Washington in November (then ranked No. 19) and No. 22 Concordia in early December. For sure, it is the first time in recent memory that UH Hilo would have two wins over Top 25 teams.
 
Notre Dame News: The Argonauts will kick off three games in five days in Hawaii with the match-up in Hilo. NDNU is 2-8 overall and 1-3 in PacWest games, with the lone conference win coming at home against Fresno Pacific (79-73). They also have a non-conference win against Pacific Union. 6-2 guard Chazz Wade leads the Argos with 12 points a game with RJ Lewis next at 10.2. The Vulcans defeated NDNU last year in Hilo (68-63) and UHH leads the all-time series, 19-10.
 
Art Announcements: The Urban Knights are 4-8 on the season but list a 3-3 record in the PacWest. They are coming off an impressive 58-57 road victory at Fresno Pacific on Dec. 30, momentum that they will take to Hawaii Pacific on Wednesday before coming to the Big Island. They also have PacWest wins over Holy Names (76-58) and Notre Dame de Namur (65-56). After starting the year 0-5, they are 4-3 since Dec. 6. Senior guard Kendall Brown leads the Urban Knights with 15.1 points per game and he adds 5.6 rebounds as well. He had 24 points in the win over Holy Names. AAU won the lone match-up against the Vulcans last year (74-67), but UHH leads the all-time series, 7-5.
 
Their Shirts are Now Red: Coach Coleman announced in December that senior forward Brian Ishola and freshman guard Kylan Mann will redshirt in 2017-18. Ishola was the Vulcan's leading rebounder last year (8.7 per game), second in the PacWest in that category. He was also the team's leading returning scorer (15.5). Ishola has had a nagging injury that caused him to miss pre-season practices and the first seven games of the season before declaring red-shirt status.
 
A Look Back: UH Hilo finished 10-16 last season and were 8-12 in the PacWest. Senior guard Parker Farris averaged 23.3 points a game and was a Second Team All-PacWest pick. The Vulcans played most of the season with just eight players.
 
Around the Loop: Four teams in the PacWest have just one loss, including Hawai`i Hilo (2-1). Azusa Pacific leads the way at 5-1 (9-5 overall), followed by California Baptist (3-1/10-2 overall) and Hawaii Pacific (2-1/7-4 overall). No one in the PacWest is nationally ranked, although CBU is receiving votes. In the end of the year west region media poll, the Lancers were third (Chico State and Western Oregon were 1-2) with Concordia seventh and Azusa Pacific eighth.  
 
Looking ahead: After the home games against the Argonauts and Urban Knights, the Vulcans will hit the road for four games in eight days at Fresno Pacific (Jan. 13), Notre Dame de Namur (Feb. 15), Holy Names (Feb. 18) and Dominican (Feb. 20).
 
Head Coach Vulcan head coach GE Coleman begins his fifth season in 2017-18 as the leader of the program. Prior to arriving on the Big Island, Coleman was the associate head coach at Central Washington for six seasons, and an assistant with the Wildcats for another five years prior to that. He was also an assistant for two seasons at Eastern Washington.
 
For more information, contact sports information director Russ Blunck at blunckr@hawaii.edu.