OAKLAND, California – The Hawai'i Hilo men's basketball team started its first out-of-state road trip with a tight one, coming down to the final buzzer with Holy Names' final shot coming up empty as the Vulcans squeezed by the Hawks, 66-65, in Pacific West Conference action Sunday evening at Tobin Gymnasium.

There were 14 ties and 16 lead changes as the Vulcans overcame a four-point halftime deficit to hit the final go-ahead basket with under five minutes remaining on a second-chance and-one bucket by Carlos Ramsey Jr. to make it 62-60.

Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones added the Vulcans' final four points as both teams went three minutes without a score until HNU's Roman Behrens scored at the 42-second-mark to make it a one-point game.

Hawai'i Hilo took its final possession with 26 seconds left but came up empty as the Hawks raced down the court during the final ticks to a missed shot attempt as time expired.

With the win, the Vulcans remained at No. 2 in the standings while HNU fell to No. 11.

By The Numbers

• Carlos Ramsey Jr. led the Vulcans with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field while going 6 of 7 at the free throw line.
• Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones and Nadjrick Peat followed with 10 points each, collecting nine and five rebounds, respectively.
• Kalique Mitchell had a season-high 13 boards while adding six points.
• Hawai'i Hilo made its way to the charity stripe a season-high 34 times, making 22 of them for a 64.7 percent success rate. HNU was just 9 of 12 on free throws. The Vulcans had season-low attempts in field goals (45) and 3-pointers (9).
• HNU capitalized on a 10-15 turnover-margin by finishing with a 20-6 points-off-turnovers advantage.
• Roman Behrens (13), Austin Carter (12) and LJ Smith (11) led the Hawks in points with double-digit scoring figures.

What's Next

Hawai'i Hilo moved to 12-4 overall, 8-3 PacWest while Holy Names moved to a 5-14 record (2-9 PacWest).

The Vulcans continue on in northern California with a matchup against Fresno Pacific next Tuesday, Jan. 24. The women will tip off at 5 p.m. local Pacific Time (3 p.m. Hawai'i Time) followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m. PT (5:30 p.m. HT).

Hawai'i Hilo will return for two final home games on Feb. 8 and Feb. 11.

The Hawks will host HPU on Jan. 26.

Hawai'i Hilo and Holy Names will match up again Feb. 8 on the Big Island.

Amongst the Best in the West

Hawai'i Hilo came in ranked at No. 7 in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA) West Region Media Poll released earlier on Monday.

At the top was Point Loma Nazarene with Azusa Pacific in a three-way tie at No. 4 with Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin's. Academy of Art was No. 8 followed by Biola at No. 9.

The D2SIDA regional poll is released every Monday, followed by the national poll every Tuesday.

Each region has six representatives (two per conference) who comprise the regional poll. The national poll has 16 voters — two from each region. The poll is in its ninth season of existence and is recognized by the NCAA.