HILO, Hawai`i—On a night when even the easiest of shot attempts didn't seem to fall, the Hawai`i Hilo Vulcans still had a chance in the final moments during a 78-75 loss to Simpson on Thursday night at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

Cleo Cain's three-point shot with less than two seconds left skidded off the rim and out of play as time expired, ending UH Hilo's comeback attempt. Cain, who led the Vulcans with 17 points, had raced to the other end of the court after Simpson missed the second of two free throw attempts that could have sealed the game.

Simpson improved to 5-1 on the season with the win, while the Vulcans dropped to 1-1. The two teams will square off again on Saturday night at the Civic at 7:30 pm.

Cain's last gap effort ended a long night for the Vulcans on the offensive end. They shot just 35 percent from the floor, putting up 75 shots but hitting only 26. They launched 26 trey attempts, but only connected on six (23 percent).

"We missed so many easy shots," said Vulcan head coach GE Coleman. "I was really disappointed in the play of our starters. But we will learn from this and have another chance on Saturday night."

Cain, a sophomore, scored his 17 points coming off the bench. Freshman Damani Whitlock had 13 points off the bench in just 19 minutes of play. The 6-0 guard also somehow managed eight rebounds, tying for team honors in that category with Kupaa Harrison.

Things were rough on the offensive end for the Vulcans from the get-go. They struggled to get shots to go, enjoying only a couple of leads in the first half—the largest at just three points twice, both times on baskets inside by Devin Johnson.

But the Red Hawks went on a 17-6 run after that as UH Hilo struggled to find anyone with a hot hand. Simpson built a ten-point lead (31-21) before a late rush cut the margin to 31-26 at the break. Two drawn charges by Harrison and a three-point play by Cain helped the Vulcans crawl back. Still, they were shooting just 26 percent at the break and hit only 2-of-11 attempts.

In the second half, Johnson quickly earned this third foul and Blake Trent hit back-to-back three's to push the Red Hawk lead to 44-33. Johnson, James Griffin and Larry Bush would all see their minutes diminish because of foul trouble in the second half. Bush would eventually foul out.

Nonetheless, the Vulcans clawed back to tie the game at 10:50 on a Kaleb Gilmore basket, and took a 51-50 lead moments later on Whitlock's three-pointer. The teams traded baskets for the next four minutes, with another Whitlock hoop tying the game at 58-58 with just under six minutes left.

But the Vulcans went cold again as Simpson went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes. Kishon Rogers hit a pair of free throws on consecutive trips down the floor to give the Red Hawks an eight-point lead. In the final two minutes, Whitlock, who missed just one shot on the night, hit a three-pointer and Griffin added a basket and a trey to cut the margin to 73-70.

It became a battle of free throws from there. Cain hit two with 17.2 seconds left, but Trent countered with two of his own five seconds later. Whitlock then drove into the lane banked a ball in off the glass and was fouled, converting the three-point play with 8.3 seconds left (77-75). The Vulcans quickly fouled and walked to the other end of the court, where Jalen Cooper hit the first free throw but missed the second.

Harrison pulled down the rebound, got the ball ahead to Whitlock, who dished to Cain. Cain's shot from beyond the arch fell just short as time expired.

Simpson, an NAIA school from Redding, Calif. that plays in the CalPac Conference, was led by Rogers' 17 points. Post player Jon Manjon had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Griffin joined Cain and Whitlock in double figures with 12 points, as did Johnson with 10. Denhym Brooke had eight points and four blocked shots. Harrison had four steals to go with his eight boards.

The Vulcans will play their third consecutive home game on Saturday night, taking on the Red Hawks at 7:30 pm