A trip to the islands generated unexpected gratification for Dale Farris and his family last week, especially the surprise right at the end.
A trip to the islands generated unexpected gratification for Dale Farris and his family last week, especially the surprise right at the end.
“It was our first time there,” Farris said Wednesday from his home near Arcata, Calif., “and it was beautiful, we were amazed by everything we saw and all the people we met, everyone so friendly and helpful.”
They scheduled the trip around daughter McKenna’s free time in high school at a point the University of Hawaii at Hilo basketball team had a couple home games so they could watch their son Parker.
Boy, was their timing good, even though they had to return before Thursday’s game against Dixie State at The Civic.
The last day in town for the Farris family was Monday when they watched Parker establish a school records when he knocked in 9-of-17 3-point shots, surpassing the former records in both attempts and baskets made. Farris closed out the game with 32 points and 9 rebounds, one off a double-double.
“Really, we were just happy we got to see him play,” Dale Farris said, “the game itself, what happened there? That was so unexpected, it was really the icing on the cake of our trip.”
The family flew out early Tuesday morning to get McKenna back in time for tests, but Dale Farris said he would like to return with the family again next year.
“(Parker) gets to make his own decisions but we want him to get that degree and I know he likes it over there,” Farris said of his son. “The longer we were there the more we realized what a team this is; they had a player turn pro, they had a big injury, Patrick Ball left the team, they could have said, ‘Oh well, not our year,’ but they did just the opposite.
“They are coming together more and more as a team,”Dale Farris said. “They do everything together, the whole group is like a family, and that’s just a neat thing to see.”
The 32-point outburst against Fresno Pacific boosted Farris to third in the Pacific West Conference in scoring, with an 18.0 points per-game average, behind conference leader Mike Smith of Cal Baptist, averaging 19.7 per game, but the Vulcans thin roster has Farris atop another conference category — playing time.
UH Hilo has three of the top 14 in playing time with Farris leading at 37.4 minutes per-game, guard Van Lockett is ninth at 32.8 and Jordan Russell is 14th (31.8). Pending the return of Darius Johnson-Wilson in another week or 10 days, coach GE Coleman has no other options than to let the starting five play as much as they can while remaining effective and staying out of foul trouble.
Dixie State (4-4 in the Pacific West Conference, 7-7 overall), comes to Hilo Civic on Thursday in its first stop on a trip through islands after losing at home to Point Loma Nazarene Monday, 76-72. UH Hilo (3-5, 3-9), has won three in a row and has the opportunity to dislodge the team one notch ahead in the standings.
The Vulcans’ women’s team, 1-1 on the current home stand, is looking for a continuation of an improved effort it generated Monday in a win against Fresno Pacific. Coach David Kaneshiro hopes his team is finally coming together after a lengthy getting-to-know-you process with the top three scorers this season — and five of the top seven — newcomers to the program. One of the other two in the top seven, Alexa Jacobs, has been limited by recovery from a torn ACL.
Against Dixie State (3-5 in conference, 3-11 overall), the eight-place Vulcans (3-4, 3-9), have an opportunity to improve their record and set their sights on a finish in the upper half of the standings.