First, Kim Schmelz scored a career-high 28 points as the UHH women stormed back.
First, Kim Schmelz scored a career-high 28 points as the UHH women stormed back.
Then, Parker Farris put up a career-best 36 as the UHH men held on.
The Vulcans showed a flare for the dramatic Saturday night in winning their final appearances in Laie, Oahu.
In this case, gentleman first.
Farris scored 22 of those 36 in the second half, and the Vulcans needed every one of them, including two free throws with eight seconds left, as BYU-Hawaii nearly erased a 14-point deficit, finally succumbing 93-90.
Farris, a senior guard, came into the game second in the PacWest Conference in scoring average (21.8), and he knocked down 12 of 20 from the field, including four 3-pointers, lifting the Vulcans (4-4 PacWest, 6-6) to their first road win of the season, and into the all-important sixth spot in the conference’s playoff pecking order.
Darius Johnson-Wilson added 15 points and six rebounds, hitting a basket with 3:33 left that capped a 28-9 run by UH-Hilo and seemingly provided an insurmountable lead at 79-65.
The Seasiders (4-11, 2-7 PacWest), sparked by 3-pointers by Gabriel Andrade and Joohan Lee, rallied all the way back to get withing one before Farris’ free throws.
Brian Ishola (10 rebounds), Randan Berinobis (six boards) and Ryan Reyes each added nine points apiece for UH-Hilo.
BYU-Hawaii shot 50 percent, making 12 3-pointers.
Schmelz to the rescue
Schmelz rallied the Vulcans from a 12-point deficit during the final 2:26 of regulation, Alexa Jacobs tied the game with a scoop layup with 18 seconds left, and Schmelz took over again in OT, scoring 18 pointss during the final seven-plus minutes for unlikely 79-72 victory.
“I think most everyone here thought this one was over, except our team,” coach Dave Kaneshiro said after UHH’s second consecutive win.
The Vulcans (3-5 PacWest, 3-8) hadn’t scored in roughly 5 1/2 minutes when Schmelz caught fire, hitting a jumper, converting a four-point play and adding three free throws to spur the comeback.
In OT, UHH had the momentum and the lead, for good, when Schmelz hit a 3-pointer. She added two more baskets, fashioning a 10 of 19 game from the field, and Vanessa Mancera buried a 3-pointer.
“I’m really proud of the girls because they showed a lot of heart,” Kaneshiro said.
Mancera was 4 of 5 on 3-pointers for 15 points, Jacobs had 12 and Sydney Mercer added 11, including two key free throws late in regulation after she came up with a steal.
“I thought we played well for about 38 minutes, but turnovers came back to bite us in the closing minutes,” BYU-Hawaii coach Craig Stanger said in a release. “I credit Hilo for never giving up and really putting the pressure on us at the end of regulation.”
Kristin Baldwin collected 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Seasiders (3-5, 6-8).
Asia Smith returned to he lineup after missing more than a month and contibuted six points and a team-best seven rebounds.