The UH-Hilo basketball team shot 3 of 24 to start the game, but battled through its shooting blues to convert 23 of 43 or 53% to defeat Academy of Art 75-72 before 51 fans on UHH’s pass list, including five who wore their masks below their noses, on Thursday night at Hilo Civic.
The Vulcans leapt over the Urban Knights for first place in the PacWest standings, finishing at 39 percent, including 8 of 18 from 3-point range and 17 of 22 free throws.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Vulcans (9-4, 5-1 PacWest), who outscored the Urban Knights in fast-break points, 17-13, and finished with 14 assists and 10 turnovers.
“It was a tough game against a tough and talented team,” UHH coach Kaniela Aiona said. “They’re well-coached and are going to be a problem in the league. We struggled early but figured it out in the end after a slow start.”
Deang Deang, who averages 13.8 points per game, scored nine points on 4 of 6 shooting, and Joshua Bagley and Denny Slay had 12 points each to lead the Urban Knights (9-6, 5-2), who made 39% from the floor, including 10 of 24 from long distance and trailed 36-25 at halftime.
The Urban Knights, who have five players averaging double-digit scoring, haven’t had a winning season in over a decade. They’re athletic and either shoot the 3-ball or attack the rim.
AAU had a four-game PacWest string of victories over Dominican (91-71), Concordia (90-77), Point Loma (76-74), and Chaminade (100-77). The Urban Knights had a game against Azusa Pacific postponed, lost to Point Loma (92-85) in overtime, and beat Concordia (85-71) before their trip to Hilo.
The Vulcans came out ice-cold in the first half, hitting 3 of 24 shots through the first 12 minutes.
It was Milwaukee freshman Donald McHenry who provided a spark. He buried a 3-pointer with under five minutes left and got a steal and a layup to cut AAU’s lead to 21-18. McHenry finished with 19 points on 4 of 5 shooting from long distance, and Jamie Strong added 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting from 3-point range.
Then the Vulcans closed with an 18-2 run, powered by six points each from Tait-Jones and McHenry, who drilled a pair of 3-pointers. Strong scored on a putback at the buzzer to push UHH ahead 36-25 at halftime.
McHenry scored 15 points on 3 of 4 shooting from 3-point range, and Tait-Jones added 10 points in the first half.
Deang, who had zero points in the first half, buried a 3-pointer and hit a layup to push the Urban Knights ahead 54-53 with 10:34 left.
McHenry sank a 3-pointer to give the Vulcans a brief lead. Then Adrian Byrd-Jelinek buried a 3-ball and Slay followed with a layup for a 59-56 lead.
Christian Popoola drilled AAU’s seventh 3-ball of the second half for a 69-62 lead with 5:23 left. The smaller Vulcans were slow in their perimeter coverage, and the Urban Knights fired away from long distance.
With 54.1 seconds left, Tait-Jones scored on a layup and drew a foul. He made the free throw for a 73-71 lead.
Williams hit 1 of 2 free throw to get AAU within 73-72 with 32.3 seconds left. The the Urban Knights and to foul and sent McHenry to the line. He sank 1 of 2 free throws for a 74-72 lead with 24 seconds remaining.
The Urban Knights called timeout with 19.6 seconds left. Deang attacked the rim but couldn’t get his shot to fall.
UHH got the ball back with Max Kunnert on the free throw line with 5.3 seconds to play. He made 1 of 2 free throws for a 75-72 lead.
Slay dribbled down the court and missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.