HILO, Hawai'i – After a slow start, Hawai'i Hilo Men's Basketball stormed back to fend off Menlo, 74-64, Saturday night in Pacific West Conference play at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
Both teams combined to score 17 of the last 19 points from the charity stripe as the Vulcans posted a season-high 23 free throws for their second-best percentage (.825) of the season. Isaiah Hinds shot 7 of 8 at the free throw line and tallied a season-high 15 total points, putting in eight of them through the final two and a half minutes.
The Oaks managed to put together an early 13-2 run to take a double-digit lead before the Vulcans responded to close the first half outscoring Menlo, 26-9, to take a six-point lead into halftime. The Oaks again went on an early scoring spurt in the second half to tie the game at 39-39, but the Vulcans once again responded with a 15-4 run to jump ahead by double digits.
Still, Menlo would not go away as it managed a 14-6 scoring response to make it a three-point game before Hinds took over to start the final free throw battle.
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 7-5 in PacWest play (14-8 overall) as Menlo moved to a 5-8 conference record (9-10 overall).
OTHER NOTES
- Nadjrick Peat collected 10 rebounds to total 550 career boards, moving to No. 3 all-time in the Vulcans record books — surpassing Randan Berinobis ('15-'18).
- Vulcans fifth-year head coach Kaniela Aiona faced his former team for the first time since last coaching at Menlo from 2014-2020.
- Hawai'i Hilo remained at No. 4 in the PacWest standings. Point Loma stands at the top at 13-1 as Menlo is slotted in at a tie for No. 11.
UP NEXT: Thursday, Feb. 6 (7:30 PM) vs Fresno Pacific (Hilo, Hawai'i / Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium)
DE LUZ CHEVROLET HALFTIME CONTEST GIVEAWAY: De Luz Chevrolet is giving four Vulcans fans a chance to win a new 2024 Chevrolet Colorado Trail Boss courtesy De Luz Chevrolet. During halftime of both the Hawai'i Hilo Women's Basketball and Men's Basketball season finales on March 1 at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, four selected participants will have the opportunity to shoot their way to a brand new truck. SIgn-ups are only available in person at each of the next Vulcans Basketball home doubleheaders (Feb. 1, 6, 10 and 13). Each person is allowed one entry per game date. Selected participants will be notified between Feb. 17-26 and must be available to attend on March 1. More details, rules and information available at HiloAthletics.com/truck.
PEPSI HAWAI'I: Mahalo to Pepsi Hawai'i for supporting Hawai'i Hilo Athletics and sponsoring Saturday's Vulcans Basketball doubleheader. Attending UH Hilo students were treated to a free Pepsi drink and pizza slice while four lucky contestants competed for a Pepsi-branded surfboard during halftime of the men's basketball nightcap. Contest participants also went home with a gift certificate good for Jackie Rey's Ohana Grill Hilo.
