UH Hilo basketball seniors Kupaa Harrison and Kim Schmelz are the Vulcan Pepsi Athletes of the Week for games during a brief two-game swing through California.

Kupaa Harrison won his fourth Pepsi Athlete of the Week award after two very good games in losing causes last week at Azusa Pacific and Fresno Pacific. The 6-foot-5 senior forward had 26 points against Azusa Pacific, hitting four-of-five three point attempts while also grabbing six rebounds. He had 20 of those points in the first half, which included nailing three consecutive treys on three Vulcan possessions. Two days later, the Kailua native had 24 points against Fresno Pacific, while also pulling down seven rebounds and dishing three assists. Harrison's name is all over the Top 10 in PacWest stat categories, as he is second in scoring (18.7), fourth in steals (1.9), fifth in free throw percentage (.795), sixth in rebounds (6.8), and ninth in field goal percentage (.512).

Senior guard Kim Schmelz had a pair of big games on the road as the Vulcans fell short against Azusa Pacific and Fresno Pacific. The Sacramento native, who missed all of last season and played in only two games in 2017-18 because of a knee injury, had 18 points against Azusa Pacific. She hit three-of-six three-point attempts against the Cougars, and a couple of days later added 12 versus the Sunbirds, converting all eight of her free throw attempts. Schmelz has scored in double figures in seven of her last eight games, bumping her scoring average up to 11.8 points per game.

The Vulcans return home this week to begin a four-game homestand, beginning with a Thursday (Jan. 23) match-up with Concordia. The women's game at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium begins at 5 p.m. and the men's game will start at 7:30.