BELMONT, California – The Hawai'i Hilo men's basketball team came up short to Academy of Art, 83-75, Sunday evening in Pacific West Conference action at the Walter Gleason Gym.

After a 37-44 score at halftime, the Academy of Art opened up its lead to 12 points to set the uphill climb for Hawai'i Hilo.

While the Urban Knights continually re-extended their lead to double-digit figures, the Vulcans were able to whittle it down to just five points after a three-point play from Kalique Mitchell at the 3:49 mark of the second half.

However, Hawai'i Hilo couldn't quite hop the hurdle as it missed the next four shot attempts plus a turnover as ART U again re-extended its lead with free throws to make it a 78-70 score.

Darren Williams responded with a three-point play of his own to bring it back within two possessions at under a minute and a half remaining, but more free throws helped the Urban Knights seal the eventual victory.

With six games remaining in the conference season, the Vulcans remain at No. 2 in the standings behind unbeaten Point Loma Nazarene. Academy of Art moved up to No. 4. The top six teams will qualify for the PacWest Championships in early March at Chaminade University of Honolulu on O'ahu.

The Vulcans and Urban Knights had previously met Jan. 12 in Hilo with ART U winning, 90-68.

By The Numbers

• Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones led with 22 points while going 6 of 9 at the free throw line to bring his career total to 234, passing Scott Prather (1999-02) to move up to No. 5 all-time in school history. 
• Darren Williams followed with 21 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists. The fifth-year senior made two shots from beyond the arc to pass Russ Harper (1992, 94) and Vince Alvarado (2007-08) with 116 3-pointers at Hawai'i Hilo and is now tied at No. 5 with Trevor Wright (1989-90).
• ART U finished shooting 54.5 percent from the field (30-55 FG), the highest allowed by the Vulcans this season. Hawai'i Hilo shot 45.8 percent (27-59 FG).
• The Urban Knights had a season-high 16 steals while the Vulcans matched a season-worst 20 turnovers committed — their other 20-turnover game came in the previous matchup to ART U.
• Academy of Art had four players finish with double-digit scoring figures: Klay Brown (19), Will Balata (15), Latrell Williams (13) and Deang Deang (12).

What's Next

Hawai'i Hilo fell to 14-5 overall, 10-4 PacWest while Academy of Art moved to a 14-7 record (9-5 PacWest).

The Vulcans return to the Big Island to host their final two games of the season, first with Holy Names on Feb. 8 with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

The two teams just met Jan. 22 in Oakland with the Vulcans winning, 66-65.

Amongst the Best in the West

Hawai'i Hilo came in ranked at a tie for No. 6 in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA) West Region Media Poll released last Monday.

At the top was Point Loma Nazarene with Azusa Pacific tied with the Vulcans at the sixth spot. Academy of Art followed at No. 8 and Biola at No. 10.

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.