There’s so much value in having a consistent scorer as the No. 25 UH-Hilo men’s basketball team found out, riding freshman Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones’ career-high 26 points against Hawaii Pacific, which was missing its top gun.
On senior day, the Vulcans also relied on their double-double machine, senior Sasa Vuksanovic, to defeat the Sharks 64-53 on Thursday at UHH Gym to put an exclamation point on their PacWest pod title and finish undefeated at home.
Vuksanovic scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, senior guard Jordan Graves added 10 points and senior reserve Greg Walter had one rebound for the Vulcans (9-1), who won their seventh straight and went 6-0 at home.
“It wasn’t pretty but it was effective,” said UHH coach Kaniela Aiona, aware that his guys shot 40% from the field and made just 5 of 20 from long distance. “We had a nice first half defensively, gave away a lot of points at the free-throw line. Happy to get a win and on senior night that’s always a big positive.
“The mission today was to go undefeated at home. We were able to accomplish that. Lots of credit to our guys taking care of the job.”
The Sharks (2-8) played without their leading scorer, David Rowlands (14.1 points per game), and their second top scorer, Rodney Hounshell (11.8 ppg), played just 14 minutes and went scoreless.
Colton Martin was the only one to score in double-digits with 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting for HPU, which shot just 29.6% from the field and trailed 26-14 at halftime.
Even though he only goes to his right off a screen, there’s no other Shark who can lose a defender, find a seam, and knock down a shot like Rowlands. Hounshell is athletic. He can run the floor and score in transition and drill shots all over the place.
Darren Williams and Graves only had two steals each. But they’re tough defenders because they have great anticipation, move their feet, and have quick hands. Their disruption caused all sorts of problems for HPU’s guards.
Lachlan Viney scored just four points on 1 of 10 shooting, and Jacob Foy had seven points on 1 of 9 shooting. It was a good moment for the two whenever they got a shot off without a hand in their face. Clean looks were infrequent.
To kick off the game, Tait-Jones scored, and Graves followed with a 3-pointer. Timeout HPU, already concerned that the game was heading in the wrong direction. The Sharks never led, not a good day when that happens.
The major malfunction for the Sharks was they didn’t have anyone who could match up with Tait-Jones or Vuksanovic on defense.
Tait-Jones is too fast and athletic when he attacks the rim. Vuksanovic is a tough cover because when the double team comes he’s able to pass to an open teammate on the perimeter. When he sits deep in the low post, he can use either hand to shoot around an opponent, no matter how big or physical, with a banker off the glass.
“Neewa was effective and efficient for us and so was Sasa,” Aiona said. “He had another double-double for him, scored when he got the opportunity down there.”
UHH only beat HPU in points off turnovers 16-15 and points in the paint 30-26. The Sharks won in the other departments: second-chance points 10-2, fast-break points 12-10, and bench points 28-4.
So how exactly did UHH win with the other major stats in HPU’s favor?
In fact, the Sharks made more free throws 18 of 26 than the Vulcans 15 of 18. HPU doesn’t have an automatic post scorer like Vuksanovic, and their 3-point scoring was nearly non-existent because of UHH’s perimeter defense. The Sharks couldn’t capitalize on their possessions and shot a woeful 3 of 15 from long distance.
So yes, defense does win championships, even if it’s the pandemic PacWest Hawaii pod title.
The Vulcans have one more goal in front of them: claim a West Regional spot. They are one of eight teams in consideration for the postseason tournament’s six spots.
UHH closes their season with road games Friday and Saturday, March 5-6 at Chaminade (3-5).
“I think the feeling is we can play much better,” Aiona said. “That’s a good thing. We still have room to go. We’ll get back in the gym and work on our efficiency and be ready to go.”