HONOLULU, Hawai'i – The Hawai'i Hilo men's basketball team fell to Biola, 79-51, Thursday evening in the first round of the Pacific West Conference Championships at Chaminade University of Honolulu's McCabe Gymnasium.
It was a tight contest until the final five minutes of the first half when the Eagles outscored the Vulcans, 12-4, with Hawai'i Hilo shooting 2 of 7 as Biola took a 33-25 lead into halftime.
The Vulcans traded baskets through the first five minutes of the second period but couldn't quite catch the Eagles before succumbing to a 9-0 run through the 12-minute mark that put Biola out further in front with a 17-point lead.
Biola flushed out the final five minutes of play with a 16-3 scoring margin as the Eagles defeated Hawai'i Hilo for the third time this season to advance in the conference postseason tournament.
"It wasn't our night," Vulcans third-year head coach Kaniela Aiona said. "Offensively, didn't finish as well as we'd like to; didn't shoot as well as we'd like to and we couldn't stop them in the paint. That's it."
The Eagles will advance to Friday's PacWest Championships semifinals round where they'll take on top-seeded Point Loma Nazarene with the title game to follow on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones led the Vulcans with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his 20th career double-double. The All-PacWest First Team selection also shot 8 of 10 at the free throw line.
- Kalique Mitchell totaled eight points and three rebounds with two steals and one block.
- The Vulcans matched a season-low two 3-pointers while the Eagles shot a season-high 66.7 percent (6 of 9) from beyond the arc.
- Biola committed just five turnovers while forcing 11 giveaways and cashing in with 13 points off turnovers. Hawai'i Hilo scored just one transition basket.
- All-PacWest Third Teamer Maximo Milovich led the Eagles with a season-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting while collecting seven boards.
WHAT'S NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to a 17-9 overall record while Biola improved to 18-10 overall (12-8 PacWest).
The PacWest Championships postseason tournament continues through this Saturday with No. 1 Point Loma Nazarene, No. 2 Azusa Pacific, No. 3 Academy of Art and No. 5 Biola.
AMONGST THE BEST IN THE WEST
In the last NCAA Division II men's basketball regional rankings released before this Sunday's selection show, Hawai'i Hilo came in at No. 10 in the West Region.
In addition to the three conference champions out of the PacWest, Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the California Collegiate Athletic Association, five other teams will qualify for the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship West Regional based on these rankings in order.
No. 8 Seattle Pacific fell in the opening round of the GNAC Championships while No. 5 Academy of Art defeated Chaminade on the other side of the PacWest Championships bracket. Biola was ranked one spot ahead at No. 9, and with Thursday's loss to the Eagles, the Vulcans will presumably be unable to qualify for further postseason play.
But nothing is certain until the bracket is announced during this Sunday's NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Selection Show at 6 p.m. local Hawai'i Time on NCAA.com.
