Men's Basketball Weekly
Hawai`i Hilo Overall Record: 3-3       Hawai`i Hilo PacWest Record: 1-2
Vulcans (3-3) Host Powerhouse Wolves in Friday Luncheon, Hawks Monday 
Friday, Dec. 14 vs. Western Oregon (6-1), Afook-Chinen Civic, Hilo, Noon
Monday, Dec. 17 vs. Holy Names (2-6 overall/1-2 PacWest), Afook-Chinen, 7:30 
Live Stats and Video Stream at www.hiloathletics.com
Radio: AM 670 KPUA-Hilo (pre-game show starts 10 minutes prior to tip-off)

Hilo Headlines: Coming off solid back-to-back efforts last week against Fresno Pacific (win) and the University of Hawai`i (82-75 loss), the Vulcans will play two more games before breaking for the holidays. On Friday, UH Hilo will host west region power Western Oregon in a luncheon special (noon) and will get back to PacWest play on Monday versus Holy Names at 7:30 pm.
 
Annoying Big Brother: The Vulcans played big brother Hawai`i tough for the first time in many years, forcing the Rainbow Warriors into 14 turnovers before eventually falling just short, 82-75. Hawaii hit eight three-pointers in the second half to hold off the upset-minded Vulcans in a back-and-forth game that entertained the 4,744 in attendance and the television audience on OC 16.
 
Welcome Home, Kupaa: Oahu native Kupaa Harrison had his best game in a Vulcan uniform, tallying double-double numbers with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. He had 18 of his points in the second half, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the floor. Harrison did so in front of a number of family and friends, close to Kailua where he went to Kalaheo High School.
 
Larry's Line: Senior guard Larry Bush, a former UNLV player, was not playing his first game against a Division I opponent, and it showed. The left-handed guard had 20 points, four rebounds and two assists and nailed all four of his free throw attempts.
 
About the Stats: Unfortunately, the stats won't count for Harrison and Bush, nor for Jalen Thompson who had 16 points. The game was a counter for Hawai`i but served as an exhibition contest for the Vulcans.
 
Facts About Forcing Turnovers: The Vulcans have now forced their opponents into 114 turnovers in six games, an average of 19 a contest. That puts them 15<sup>th</sup> in NCAA Division II listings, a little more than half a turnover away from cracking the top 10. The Vulcans lead the PacWest in Turnover Margin at 4.50—UHH averages 14.5 turnovers a contest.
 
Coach C: A little over a week after their lowest offensive output (for a half) this season (16 points vs. Hawaii Pacific), the Vulcans turned it up a number notches against Hawaii. "Offensively, we played really well," said Vulcan head coach GE Coleman after the game. "Our pressure on defense gave them some problems, but they adjusted well in the second half with shooters on the corners that didn't miss much. Coming into the game, we struggled on the boards, but we really made good progress with that tonight."
 
Projected Starters: The Vulcans will be without James Griffin, who was injured six minutes into the game with the Rainbow Warriors. Here are the projected starters for this weekend.
 
*G—Cleo Cain, 6-4, 180, So., Grand Terrace, Calif. (Scale Prep)
*G—Larry Bush, 6-2, 175, Sr., Calabasas, Calif. (UNLV)
*G—Jordan Graves, 6-1, 180, Jr., Monterey, Calif. (Santa Rosa JC)
*F—Kupaa Harrison, 6-5, 185, Jr., Honolulu, Hawai`i (Orange Coast College)
*F—Denhym Brooke, 6-8, 210, Sr., Auckland, New Zealand (BYU-Hawaii)
 
Good Going Griffin: The Vulcans will miss James Griffin, whose timetable for a return is not yet known at this time. He has had more than solid numbers through UH Hilo's first six games. The 6-5 graduate-senior transfer has been in double figures for every contest, including twice hitting for 23 points (Alaska, Simpson). The former West Liberty standout is averaging 17.3 points a game, third best in the PacWest Conference. He leads the Vulcans in scoring and three-pointers made (16), and is second in assists (15) and rebounds (5.5).
 
By the Numbers: Senior post Denhym Brooke broke out with 19 points against Fresno Pacific, his career-best as a Vulcan. As a sophomore at BYU-Hawaii, he had a collegiate-best 23 points against Academy of Art…Larry Bush led the Vulcans in scoring during games at Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade, hitting for 23 against the Silverswords. The UNLV transfer is averaging 12 points a game…In mostly a sixth-man role, sophomore Cleo Cain lists third on the Vulcans in scoring at 9.3 points a game. He has hit 10-of-19 three-point attempts…Kupaa Harrison is UHH's leading rebounder with 5.5 a game and is tied for the team lead in assists (16) and steals (11) with Jordan Graves. 
 
PacWest Prognosticators: Point Loma was picked by the PacWest coaches as the favorites to win the league title this year. They collected 10 of the 12 first place votes, with the other two going to projected second-place finisher Azusa Pacific. The Vulcans are tabbed to finish ninth.
 
Around the Loop: Chaminade is the only unbeaten team in the PacWest (6-0/3-0) after defeating Hawaii Pacific on Tuesday (Dec. 11). Two other teams are unbeaten in conference play—Point Loma and Concordia, both 4-0.
 
Regional Rankings: Monday's regional rankings (D2SIDA) looked like this on Dec. 10. (1) UC San Diego 8-1, (2) Saint Martin's 8-1, (3) Cal Poly Pomona (4-1), (4) Chaminade (5-0), (5) Point Loma (8-2), (6) Northwest Nazarene (6-1), (7) Western Oregon (6-1), (8) Western Washington (7-2), (9) San Francisco State (6-3), (10) Concordia CA (8-4). Nationally, UCSD is sixth, Saint Martin's 11^th, Cal Poly Pomona 21^st and Chaminade is 23^rd.
 
Wolves Write-Up: The Vulcans welcome to Hilo one of the top Division II programs in the west on Friday. Western Oregon is 6-1 this season, and is an impressive 37-3 over the last two years. WOU went 31-2 last year, falling in the regional title game to California Baptist, and in 2015-16, they won the west region title and advanced all the way to the NCAA Final Four. This year, they have a win over No. 15 nationally ranked Western Washington, and trailed by only two points at the half to No. 14 (Division I) Oregon. The Wolves are balanced with seven different players averaging seven points or better a game, and they are fourth in NCAA Division II stats in turnover margin at 7.3 per game. The Vulcans and Wolves have met 18 times, with UH Hilo holding a 11-7 all-time edge.
 
Free, Free, Free!!: From here on and forever more, all UH Hilo and Hawaii Community College students will receive free admission to all Vulcan home events. Just show your student ID, and you are in!!
 
Watch, Listen: All Vulcan home men's basketball games will be available via video stream (and Live Stats). Improved coverage, which includes audio play-by-play, through Out of the Sea Media on the Vulcan website. Additionally, home games are on radio at AM 670 KPUA-Hilo, with the pre-game show beginning 10 minutes before tip-off.
 
The Coach: GE Coleman enters into his sixth season at UH Hilo in 2018-19. Prior to his arrival at UHH, he was the associate head coach for six seasons at Central Washington, and was an assistant for five season with CWU prior to that. He also was an assistant coach at Eastern Washington from 2005-07. GE's father Gil Coleman was the head coach at Central Washington from 1990-95.