SAN DIEGO, California – For the fourth consecutive contest, the game was decided in the waning moments as the Hawai'i Hilo Men's Basketball team fell on a three-point buzzer beater to Point Loma, 74-71, Saturday evening in Pacific West Conference action at the Golden Gymnasium.

With only 0.6 seconds on the clock coming off an inbounded play, PLNU's Coby Barnes managed to get a very quick 3-pointer to land from the left corner to cap a 16-point second-half comeback.

Hawai'i Hilo used an 11-0 run starting near the midway point of the opening period to jump ahead with Carlos Ramsey Jr. closing the half on a last-second banked shot to take a 39-25 lead.

Point Loma quickly got back into the game by returning with a 21-3 run through the early portion of the second half. After a barrage of back-and-forth blows that saw seven tied scores and seven lead changes, Charles Elzie III hit a lightning-fast pull-up jumper from beyond the arc for the final tie at 71-71 with under 14 seconds running down the clock.

Nadjrick Peat deflected a PLNU inside inbounded pass to erase a few half-seconds leading to the final shot of the game. Zack Paulsen tossed a ball to Barnes on the short corner and somehow managed to get the shot off with a Vulcans defender in his face.

STATS SHEET

• It was the only 3-pointer made by Barnes on the evening (and 15th of the season) as he finished with 12 points (4-6 FG).
• It was a contrast of two halves in the shooting categories as Hawai'i Hilo went 63.6 percent from the field with four treys in the first half. Point Loma flipped the second half to shoot 65.2 percent with eight 3-pointers.
• Kalique Mitchell led the Vulcans in scoring and posted a double-double with 15 points (9-12 FT) and 13 rebounds followed by 13 points each from Ramsey Jr. and Elzie III. Cameron Wall finished with double-digit figures at 11 points (5-6 FG).
• PLNU's Paulsen and Jake Lifgren split a near-even combined 43 points with nine total 3-pointers.

UP NEXT

Hawai'i Hilo moved to a 10-6 overall record (4-3 PacWest) while Point Loma moved to 5-1 in conference play (10-4 overall). The two teams will meet again Jan. 23 at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

The Vulcans will return to the Big Island to begin an eight-game in-state slate, starting with Dominican (Jan. 11) and Academy of Art (Jan. 15).

Next Thursday night's matchup will be "Welcome Back Students" night sponsored by Pepsi. Attending University of Hawai'i at Hilo and Hawai'i Community College students will receive a free Pepsi-brand drink with opportunities to win prizes at halftime.

SEASON TICKETS

Single-game and season tickets are now available to be purchased online through Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans Athletics' recently launched online ticket platform in partnership with AudienceView Campus.

The 2023-24 slate will feature 28 total home contests at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium with a package price of $130 for adults and $65 for seniors (ages 65-plus) and middle/high school students.

Both can be accessed at HiloAthletics.com/tickets.

VIDEO STREAM PACKAGES

The Hawai'i Hilo Men's Basketball team will have 14 home games available to be viewed online through our video stream broadcasts in partnership with Out of the Sea Media Arts Inc.

Single-game viewing will be priced at $10 with a season-package offering of $105.

More information is available at HiloAthletics.com/LiveStream.