A basket and a stop are two keys to a comeback.
All too often Tuesday night, UH-Hilo only had half of that equation covered.
Concordia’s 50-point second half put any hopes of a Vulcans’ upset bid on ice as the Eagles raced to a 84-75 victory at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
Late in the game, UHH coach GE Coleman turned to his bench and said, “They are just flat out tougher than us.”
Concordia (12-6, 8-1 PacWest) certainly was during the last quarter-plus of the game in breaking a four-game winning streak for the Vuls (7-6, 5-4).
Kupaa Harrison’s layup gave UHH its last lead at 55-54 with 10:14 remaining, but defensive stops were hard to come by after that.
“I’m really disappointed right now,” Coleman said. “We have similar styles and showed a complete lack of toughness. That’s on me as a head coach.”
Kayle Knuckles scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and Brian Chambers proved tough to get in front of, finishing with 13 points and nine assists.
“We have to figure out away to take some charges,” Coleman said. “We have to be tougher mentally, to play more like they do. They are really good at what they do.”
James Griffin led UHH with 18 points and Larry Bush added 17, shooting 7 of 8.
UH-Hilo led by as many as eight points, 42-34, early in the second half on a basket by Harrison, who finished with a full stat sheet: 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists, six steals and five turnovers.
But Concordia made 17 of 29 from the field in the second half and 13 of 14 from the free throw line.
As the the Eagles and their small contingent of fans cheered as the clock winded down in the final minute, Coleman was already looking ahead as he turned to his bench again and lectured.
UHH takes on the PacWest’s top team, Point Loma (14-2, 10-0) on Saturday at Hilo Civic. The Sea Lions are ranked No. 1 in the West and ninth nationally.
In the women’s game, Allie Navarette’s 25 points and 14 rebounds weren’t enough as the Vulcans fell to taller Concordia 76-63, their sixth loss in a row.
Fellow 6-footer Patience Taylor had a season-high 15 points and 5-11 freshman Maddie Beck had a career-best 11 points, hitting 4-of-5 shots.