FRESNO, California – The Hawai'i Hilo Men's Basketball team clinched a postseason berth for the Pacific West Conference Tournament with a 74-68 win over Fresno Pacific Thursday night in PacWest action at the Special Events Center.
The Vulcans sank a season-high 24 free throws (.686 on 35 attempts) led by Kalique Mitchell going 11 of 15 at the charity stripe. The Sunbirds shortened the score gap to just a single possession a handful of times through the second half, but Mitchell got to the free throw line to extend Hawai'i Hilo's lead each time.
Zoar Nedd splashed five 3-pointers (.833) as he and Mitchell both totaled 17 points and eight rebounds each. Carlos Ramsey Jr. led with 20 points.
FPU's Isaac Peralta managed to cap his scoring total at 26 points to make the game just a four-point score with 34 seconds remaining, but Mitchell, Jarin Edwards and Jake Kosakowski sank shots from the charity stripe to ice the victory.
With the win, the Vulcans secured a spot in the six-team PacWest Conference Championship, marking a third consecutive conference postseason appearance in three chances under fourth-year head coach Kaniela Aiona (no PacWest Tournament in 2020-21 due to COVID-19 pandemic).
The two teams previously met in Hilo in early December with the Vulcans victorious, 70-60.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to a 16-11 overall record (10-8 PacWest) while Fresno Pacific moved to 5-12 in conference play (7-18 overall).
The Vulcans wrap up their road trip back down in Southern California against Westmont (Feb. 24) before returning for one last home contest against HPU on March 2 for Senior Night.
PATH TO PACWEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The top six teams at the end of the regular season will make it to San Diego for the 2023-24 PacWest Conference Tournament set for March 7-9 at Point Loma's Golden Gymnasium.
Hawai'i Hilo now holds the No. 5 seed, one spot behind Biola, who also secured a spot for the postseason. Fresno Pacific is last in the standings.
Point Loma, Academy of Art and HPU have also clinched three of the postseason berths, leaving just one spot up for grabs between Concordia University Irvine, Dominican and Westmont.
