Photo of Steven Hubbell on defense courtesy of the University of Pacific/Andrew Lee
HONOLULU, Oahu--Trailing by only three points at the half, UH Hilo gave Division I Pacific all that they could handle before giving up the ghost during a 85-74 men's basketball game at the Outrigger Resort Rainbow Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday night.
The game was an exhibition and non-counter for the Vulcans but counted for Pacific, who improved to 1-1 on the season.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones led the Vulcans with 21 points and six rebounds. The 6-foot-7 swing man converted 7-of-8 shots at the free throw stripe. The Vulcans had four other players in double figures, all with 11 points each---
Darren Williams,
Donald McHenry,
Jamie Strong and
Ethan Jetter. Williams also had seven rebounds and four assists.
The Vulcans had a handful of leads in the second half before the Tigers pulled away late in the contest.
In the first half, the two teams traded leads before back-to-back treys by Strong gave the Vulcans a 20-16 lead with 9:36 to play. During that surge, the Vulcans went on a 10-0 run.
UHH still led at 28-23 after a McHenry basket, but Pacific soon closed the gap with five straight points of their own. UH Hilo then went cold for a three minute stretch without a basket. UP took a 37-32 lead before a pair of Tait-Jones free throws made it 37-34 at the half.
In the second half, Pacific led until a basket by Williams made it 45-44. Strong and McHenry followed up with treys after the media timeout to give the Vulcans a 51-48 lead.
But the Tigers went on a 8-0 run to grab a 56-51 lead with eight minutes to go. They would never trail again and the Vulcans would get no closer than six points the rest of the way.
It was the inaugral win for first-year Tiger head coach Leonard Perry, whose team shot 54 percent from the field on the night. They also outrebounded the Vulcans, 36-28.
UH Hilo will play its first official game on Friday night, hosting the Simpson Red Hawks at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. Start time is 7 pm as the Vulcans play their third game in three nights, part of a season-beginning six games in seven nights.
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