HILO, Hawai`i—A little help here please?

UH Hilo took the next step in qualification for the Pacific West Conference tournament with a 68-59 win over Notre Dame de Namur on Tuesday night at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. That pulls them up to one game under .500 at 12-13 overall and 10-11 in the PacWest.

A strong second half got the Vulcans in the win column, snapping a three-game losing string. Larry Bush led the way with 15 points, followed by Kupaa Harrison and Cleo Cain with 12 each.

Academy of Art is a half-game ahead of the Vulcans in the conference standings. Third-place Azusa Pacific could do the Vulcans a solid by beating the Urban Knights on Thursday night in Azusa. That would put the two teams even with a game left on Saturday night—UH Hilo at home versus Chaminade, and AAU on the road at Biola.

A tie in the standings between the Vulcans and Urban Knights means a trip for the Vulcans to San Rafael, Calif., for the March 7-9 tournament. Holy Names, now fifth in the PacWest at 11-10, could make things muddy with a loss on Saturday at Fresno Pacific, creating a three-way tie which would not work into the Vulcans favor.

But for now, the post-season is still a possibility, which would be a first for the Vulcans since the tournament began in 2012.

"That's all we can ask for," said UHH head coach GE Coleman after the game. "We knew tonight would be tough, they (NDNU) have played a lot of teams very close, including us last time. Coaches say this all the time, but we really needed to take it a game at time and we were able to get this one in the books."

It wasn't easy against the Argonauts, who are now 1-25 on the season and 1-19 in the PacWest. UH Hilo shot just 40 percent from the field in the first half and led 32-29. Only a strong second half got them the W, shooting 57 percent from the floor.

No one led by more than six points in the first half, and UH Hilo held a slim margin for all but a few possessions in the first 20 minutes. The Argonauts hit 52 percent of their first half shots to keep them close. The Vulcans scored the final points of the half on a steal and dunk by Bush, but were mostly carried by Harrison who had eight points and four assists before halftime.

UHH went on a 6-0 run to start the second half and led by ten after a trey by Cain, who scored his 12 points off the bench. The Vulcans would lead by ten again (48-38) after a basket by Bush, despite playing mostly without Harrison who got into foul trouble.

The Argonauts fought back again, going on a 11-2 run to cut the deficit to just one point (50-49) on a free throw by Chazz Wade with about eight minutes left. With the score 52-51, UH Hilo answered with another run, this time outscoring their visitors 13-2 behind six points from Bush, the 6-2 senior guard.

The Vulcans would lead by as many as 12 points in the final moments before settling for the 68-59 final.

Joining Bush, Harrison and Cain in double figures were James Griffin and Jordan Graves, who had ten points each. Griffin also had seven rebounds and Graves had a double-double with ten assists. Post Anthony Suber led NDNU with 17 points and Wade had 15.

UH Hilo will scoreboard watch on Thursday and then get set to play Chaminade on Senior Night, Saturday. Start time is 7:30 p.m.

"I hope as many folks as possible will come out," Coleman said. "We really appreciate the support of the Hilo community and this would be a great night to come watch two island rivals play with a lot at stake."