HILO, Hawai`i—Jordan Graves hit a step-back three-pointer with four seconds left, leading his Hawai`i Hilo Vulcans to an 82-79 upset of No. 2 regionally ranked Azusa Pacific on Monday night at the Civic Auditorium.

Graves' shot from the top of the key gave the Vulcans the lead just moments after Jake Spurgeon had tied it at 79-79 on free throws with 22 seconds left. Graves then slowly brought the ball up the court, dribbled time off the clock, feinted his man to the floor and stepped back to drill the game winner.

The improbable victory gives the Vulcans a win in their PacWest opener, and they improved to 2-1 overall. The Cougars are now 5-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

The Vulcans, who trailed the entire first half and by as many as 11 points, stuck to the game plan.

"I told them at halftime that we just needed to persevere," said UHH head coach GE Coleman after the game. "Our goal was to keep them from beating us from the three-point line (APU averages 10 treys a game). We did that, kept the pressure on at the defensive end and hit some very clutch shots."

The Vulcans had three players with 20+ games, led by Graves' 26 points. The senior ball-hawk also had six steals and hit 3-of-4 trey attempts. Kupaa Harrison had 22 before fouling out with just under two minutes to play. Sasa Vuksanovic also had 22 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists.

The Cougars led the entire first half, with the largest margin at 11 points (36-25). But the Vulcans began to creep back, pulling to within three points at the halftime break (42-39) on a Vuksanovic free throw.

UH Hilo finally got their first lead early in the second half on a Graves three-pointer (44-43). From there, it was back and forth. At one juncture, Harrison and APU's Spurgeon scored on three straight possessions each, trading three-pointers and baskets inside.

The Vulcans took a 61-58 lead on a Harrison basket, and although no one could have guessed it at the time, UHH would never trail again. A three-point play by Vuksanovic gave the home team a 74-68 margin, and they still led by six at 2:35 after a Graves hoop. But a Spurgeon three made it 78-75 with 1:32 remaining.

Graves had a steal and pair of free throws just inside a minute left, but Mawugbe countered with his seventh dunk (unofficially) of the night (79-77). The 6-foot-10 PacWest Preseason Player of the Year played the last part of the game in foul trouble but still finished with 23 points and ten rebounds.

After Spurgeon's free throws, Graves worked the ball up the court for the game winner.

"Jordan was so clutch tonight on both ends of the court," Coleman added. "He, Koop (Harrison) and Vuksanovic had terrific games."

For the Cougars, Spurgeon finished with a career-high 28 points. The 6-foot-7 wing hit 10-of-12 free throws.

APU had a season-low five three-pointers, but outrebounded the Vulcans, 28-22.

The Vulcans now hit the road for three tough contests in southern California, taking on Concordia (Dec. 7), Biola (Dec. 10) and Point Loma (Dec. 12).