It was one of those nights for the UH-Hilo basketball team when the shots just didn’t fall and another way was needed to post a victory.
Unfortunately, the Vulcans couldn’t rely on their defense, and Simpson had enough of both to pull out a 78-75 victory in a non-conference game Thursday night at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
At least, it was a dramatic finish. Cleo Cain missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, a minute before James Griffin drained a 3 to get UHH within 73-70.
The Red Hawks sank 11 of 14 free throws with under three minutes to give themselves enough of a cushion.
Cain finished with 17 points to lead the Vulcans (1-1), who shot just 35 percent on field goals, including just 6 of 26 from 3-point range. Damani Whitlock added 13 points, James Griffin 12, and Devin Johnson had 10 points.
Kishon Rogers scored 17 points, while Blake Trent and Jon Manjon had 12 points each for the Red Hawks (5-1), who shot 48 percent from the floor.
In the first half, the Vulcans couldn’t hit shots from the field (26 percent), struggled to stop Simpson’s fast-break offense and trailed 36-31.
UHH had a tough time stopping the Red Hawks from going to the hoop and dropping in layups. The NAIA Red Hawks had six layups; UHH had a dunk by Johnson and one layup.
The rest of Simpson’s points came on dribble-drive plays and post moves. The Red Hawks shot 48 percent from the floor in the first half, running over UHH’s help-side defense.
Simpson’s Jalen Cooper grabbed a ball of a miss, raced down the court ahead of a pack of Vuls and dropped in a layup for a 27-20 lead with under six minutes.
That bucket for easy points fired up the defense and kicked the offense into gear.
UHH scored seven straight points to close the gap, attacking the basket and sinking free throws. Denhym Brooke hit a pair, Cain scored, was fouled and made his free throw, and Brooke buried two more free throws.
That cut the score to 34-31 with 1:14 remaining, but on the next possession UHH turned the ball over, and Tiyon Martin scored on another layup.
Griffin, who scored 23 points in UHH’s win over Alaska Fairbanks on Monday, was plagued by foul trouble in the first half. He picked up his third foul with 6:13 left.
Also in the first half, UHH’s ball-sharing was pretty much absent. There were a lot of trips down the floor, no passes and a quick shot for a miss. The Vulcans had three assists in the first 20 minutes, another reason they trailed by five points at the break.
At the start of the second half, Simpson’s Trent, who averages 16 points per game, found his stroke. He swished back-to-back triples to increase the lead to 44-33.
Larry Bush was assigned to Trent and held him to two points in the first half. Bush, who had 23 points in Monday’s win over Alaska Fairbanks, finished with three points.
UHH jumped on an 11-2 run to tie it 48-48 with under 11 minutes, took a 51-50 lead on Whitlock’s 3-pointer. The Vuls momentarily lost the lead and regained it on Cain’s 3-pointer to push ahead 54-53 with 7:45 to go.
But the momentum kept bouncing back and forth.
After Whitlock scored on a reverse layup to tie it 58-58, Trent went down the court and put in a layup. Berry flushed a 3-pointer for a 63-58 lead.
Simpson hit 21 of 28 free throws, including 11 of 14 with three minutes left.