HILO, Hawai'i – Darren Williams (Rancho Cucamonga, California/Rancho Cucamonga HS) shot an astounding 81.8 percent from the field to put up 27 points as the Hawai'i Hilo men's basketball team opened the 2022-23 season with a 99-79 victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) American Indian College Friday night at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
The senior shot 6 of 8 from beyond the arc while dishing out nine assists to fall one shy of the double-double. Williams also collected four rebounds and had three steals.
SAGU AIC got off to a 5-0 lead and managed to keep the score locked tight through the first eight minutes, but a barrage of 3-pointers from Williams and Jarin Edwards (Oakland, California/Bishop O'Dowd HS) provided the push to propel the Vulcans out front for good.
"They're a unique team. They're 40 minutes of zone; very different than us," Vulcans head coach Kaniela Aiona said. "It was a good challenge to play with someone who was going to push us in some areas we're not used to.
"We got nine new guys in this program so there's going to be a lot of 'firsts' for this team with the challenges they're facing and tonight was the first step to that," he continued.
Williams also provided one of many highlights in the waning seconds of the first half as the Warriors held for final possession, but Williams snatched the cookies and raced down the court for the fastbreak layup to beat the buzzer.
"This is how you want to start the year, for sure," Aiona said. "You don't always win the first one but you want to at least have good energy and I thought we did that. The guys were making the hustle plays, getting on the ground; lot's of positives with the effort and attitude."
By The Numbers
- Carlos Ramsey Jr. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin/Arizona Compass Prep School) also had a great scoring night, pouring in 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting (71.4 percent) with six rebounds.
- Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (Wellington, New Zealand/St. Patrick's College) also finished with double-digit scoring figures, going 5 for 9 from the field (55.6 percent) with six rebounds.
- Drew Yezbek shot 5 of 7 from three-point land to rack up 15 points for double-digit scoring numbers.
- Nadjrick Peat (Alexandria, Jamaica/York Castle HS) again brought in nine rebounds, this time being matched equally by Jarin Edwards (Oakland, California/Bishop O'Dowd HS). Peat also totaled five blocks.
- SAGU AIC's Keyshawn Celestino-Clyde and Harley Upton each surpassed the 20-points mark while shooting a combined 16 of 31 (51.6 percent). The rest of the team shot 34.3 percent from the field.
What's Next
Hawai'i Hilo improved to 1-0 overall as SAGU American Indian College remained at 0-1 as the contest counted as an exhibition on its end.
The Vulcans will be back at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium on Monday, Nov. 14 to take on Alaska Anchorage (2-1 overall).
