HILO, Hawai'i – After defeating HPU one week ago, the Hawai'i Hilo men's basketball team did it again Saturday night, this time at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium to get the season sweep over the Sharks with a commanding 97-79 win in second-round Pacific West Conference play.
The Vulcans had their best shooting performance of the season, finishing with a 0.603 field goal percentage (35-58) with a season-high 0.556 from beyond the arc (10-18).
Both teams went scoreless through the first two and a half minutes of play before Hawai'i Hilo jumped out to a 12-1 lead and rode that wave of momentum the rest of the way for the victory.
HPU went on an 11-0 run in the early part of the second half to the cut the Vulcans' lead to just 11 points, but Darren Williams splashed one of his six 3-pointers followed by back-to-back long-range buckets from Drew Yezbak helped re-extend the lead. A few minutes later, Hawai'i Hilo added an 11-0 run of its own for good measure.
"For us it's like two steps forward, maybe one step back. We've had guys coming back from injuries so it's been nice to welcome guys back to the court, but it all takes time … It's going to be a process to find the best version of ourselves but this was a good one," Vulcans head coach Kaniela Aiona said.
Hawai'i Hilo defeated HPU, 71-66, last week on O'ahu.
By The Numbers
- Williams led the Vulcans with 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting, going 6 of 7 from long range, while adding three boards, five assists, one block and three steals.
- Carlos Ramsey Jr. followed with 24 points, shooting 8 of 14 from the field and 7 of 12 at the free throw line while adding six rebounds.
- Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones fell just shy of a double-double, corralling 10 rebounds with nine points, six assists and two takeaways.
- Kalique Mitchell scored a season-high 17 points, going 7 of 10 from the field while collecting five rebounds and four steals.
- Mason Landdeck led the Sharks with 25 points off the bench while Marquis Moore followed with 22 points.
What's Next
Hawai'i Hilo improved to 5-1 overall, 3-0 PacWest as HPU fell to a 4-5 record (0-3 PacWest).
The Big Island Holiday Classic returns next week, Dec. 17-19, with the Vulcans playing a four-team tournament format taking on Milligan University (NAIA) Saturday at 6:45 p.m. in the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
Dependent on the result, the Vulcans will then play at either 6 or 8 p.m. Sunday night against Central Methodist or Valley City State. For more information, visit HiloAthletics.com/BigIslandClassic.
The Sharks will play in the Hoops In Hawai'i Classic, Dec. 16-19, first taking on Simon Frasier.
