Say hello to a hard-earned win streak for the UH Hilo men’s basketball team.
It’s been a while since that’s happened for coach GE Coleman’s team which was able to piece together two three-game win streaks last year, but with a rocky combination of its top returning player signing a professional contract and injuries to a couple starters this year, the Vulcans started out winless in nine games this season.
After an overtime win last Saturday at Point Loma Nazarene, UH Hilo (2-5 in the Pacific West Conference, 2-9 overall) got another one Thursday night, running on fumes and hopes at the end with a 72-69 victory over Academy of Art (2-6, 4-10).
Regardless of the difficulty, it put a good finish to a tumultuous day when Coleman found out his fourth leading scorer, freshman guard Patrick Ball had quit the team.
“It’s disappointing,” Coleman said of Ball’s departure. “All I can say is it had to do with personal reasons.”
Ball was close with senior guard Vandyon Lockett.
“I knew something was going on,” Lockett said, “he is off now, so we have to get along without him.”
They did that Thursday thanks to a 10-0 start that included 3-pointers by Parker Farris and Jordan Russell, a 12-foot jumper by Randan Berinobis and tip at the bucket by Salim Gloyd who led both teams in scoring with 28 points and added 12 rebounds.
“Anytime you get a win in the Pac-West it’s a good thing,” Coleman said, “but honestly, that’s probably as bad as we’ve played in the last month or more. We gave up penetration right down the middle way, way too much and we allowed them 18 offensive rebounds. That’s just a killer.”
The Urban Knights had seven offensive boards to six for the Vulcans in the first half, but a 10-2 advantage in that category in the second half gave Art U a huge advantage inside.
“We’ve played better, actually much better a couple times in game we lost,” Lockett said, “but we got this one behind us and now it’s a matter of getting it all back together. We can catch out breath and get ready for Fresno (Pacific), which comes in on Monday.”
The Vulcans held a 10-point lead much of the first half, but the Urban Knights managed an 8-5 edge in the first four minutes of the second half to get back in the game as UH Hilo began to wear down from fatigue with a seven-man rotation.
The lead was narrowed to four on a couple of occasions and it was 70-69 with 38 seconds left after Tyler Sabine’s inside shot. Floyd eventually scored in the paint for the final margin of victory with 8 seconds left and Art U was unable to get a shot at the end.
“We’re better,” Coleman said, “but to get this one in the shape we’re in is a big thing. We should be able to build some confidence after not playing well and still managing to win.”
They’ll find out about that Monday against Fresno Pacific.
