Hilo, Hawai'i– The men's basketball team stayed resilient, making the clutch plays they needed to top Academy of Art 75-72 in the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
UH Hilo will stretch their winning streak to five games (9-4, and 5-1 PacWest Conference) while ART U will drop 9-6 and 5-2 in the PacWest.
Prior to this game Academy of Art held the first place slot in the PacWest standings, with UH Hilo nipping at their heels by one game in second place. The Vulcans will now take the first place standing, while ART U falls to third- currently tied with Biola.
The Urban Knights led the first half until the last three minutes where UH Hilo took the lead off a bucket by Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (24-23). Tait-Jones saw an opening and drove into the paint with 2:39 remaining until halftime. The Vulcan offense then pressed on the gas widening to as much as an 11-point lead before entering halftime. Six of those 11 points were two treys by freshman Donald McHenry.
The Vulcans held their lead in the final frame until the last 11 minutes of regulation where ART U's Deang Deang had a layup that brought the score in their favor, 54-53.
UHH continued to put pressure on the Urban Knights and were successful in executing plays as they worked to take the game-winning lead.
A good layup by Tait-Jones gave the Vulcans the game-winning lead with 56 second left on the clock that they held until their eventual 75-72 win.
Scoring Leaders… Tait-Jones led the Vulcans in scoring with 22 points followed by McHenry with 19 and Jamie Strong with 12.
Fast Hands… The Vulcans totaled seven steals by McHenry (2), Darren Williams (2), Tait-Jones (1), Strong (1) and Ethan Jetter (1).
Double-Double Machine… Tait-Jones collected his fourth double-double of the season, leading his team with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Up Next..The Vulcans play next Monday, Jan. 17 at 7:30pm HST against Dominican. There will be no general admission spectators allowed for this game, but Vulcan fans can support online through live stats, radio, and livestream.
