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After falling for just the second time in conference play a few days prior, the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s men’s basketball team rebounded with a big win as it extended itself past Azusa Pacific, 68-59, Monday evening at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium to overtake the Cougars for second place in the Pacific West Conference.

The Vulcans built up as large of a lead as 16 points through the early part of the second half but the Cougars flipped the score with a 19-2 run to take a 45-44 advantage near the midway point of the period.

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It was gut-check time for UH-Hilo and it answered the call to hold APU to just four scores from the field the rest of the way as the Vulcans put up 24 points on the way to victory. “The biggest thing we did was handle adversity,” Vulcans head coach Kaniela Aiona said. “It was good to have a little bit of depth back. It’s hard to lose at home and the wheels fell off in the second half last game. It was good to see how we responded.”

With the win, UH-Hilo now currently sits at No. 2 in the conference between Point Loma Nazarene at the top with APU, Academy of Art and Biola right behind.

By The Numbers

Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones returned to action after missing the last two games and scored a game-high 25 points (11-17 FG) with 11 rebounds for a consecutive double-double and his fifth on the season. Tait-Jones opened the second half with an 8-0 run to help the Vulcans extend their early lead. Carlos Ramsey Jr. followed with 18 points (7-11 FG) and scored the go-ahead bucket inside the paint at the 10:50-mark.

Offensively, the Vulcans took just 10 three-point shot attempts, their lowest on the season. They also went a season-low 45.0 percent at the free throw line (9 of 20). APU matched a season low of 35.1 shooting percentage (20-57 FG). Bryce Sloan had a team-high 15 points off the bench for the Cougars followed by Nate Kleppe’s 13 points. Cameron Wall also returned to action for the Vulcans, logging five minutes off the bench after sitting out the last five contests.

What’s Next

UH-Hilo moved to 11-3 overall, 7-2 PacWest while Azusa Pacific moved to a 12-5 record (7-3 PacWest).

The Vulcans will be back in action today for the last hoops doubleheader of the season-opening home stand, taking on Biola (11-6 overall, 6-4 PacWest). The women will tip off at 5 p.m. followed by the men’s game at 7:30 p.m. in the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

The Cougars will travel to Oahu to take on HPU and Chaminade through the end of this week.

UH-Hilo and Azusa Pacific will match up again one month from now on Feb. 16 in Azusa, California.

Amongst the Best in the West

UH-Hilo came in ranked at No. 7 in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA) West Region Media Poll released earlier on Monday.

At the top was Point Loma Nazarene with Azusa Pacific in a three-way tie at No. 4 with Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin’s. Academy of Art was No. 8 followed by Biola at No. 9.

The D2SIDA regional poll is released every Monday, followed by the national poll every Tuesday.

Each region has six representatives (two per conference) who comprise the regional poll. The national poll has 16 voters — two from each region. The poll is in its ninth season of existence and is recognized by the NCAA.

Vulcans Fall to No. 25 APU on Last-Second Free Throws

Mandi Kawaha sank two clutch free throws to tie the game with four seconds left, but a foul on a last-second shot attempt gave APU the go-ahead score as the UH-Hilo’s women’s basketball team fell just short to No. 25 Azusa Pacific, 64-62, Monday evening in Pacific West Conference action at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

The Vulcans found themselves down four points with 21.8 seconds left following two made-free throws from APU. Kawaha raced down the court for a turnaround jumper and Kierstyn Agonias cleaned up the missed shot for a tip-in layup to cut into the margin.

Following a handful of fouls and a pair of missed free throws by the Cougars, Kawaha took the inbounded-pass with three seconds left and drew a foul to head to the line to sink the game-tying free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining as the game was seemingly headed for overtime.

APU’s Paige Uyehara last-second heave fell short, but a shooting foul was called to give her three chances at the game-winner. After missing the first attempt, the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year hit on the final two to take the win for the Cougars.

Azusa Pacific remains tied atop the standings with Concordia University Irvine. The Vulcans sit at No. 8 behind Academy of Art as the top six will qualify for the postseason PacWest Conference Championships.

It was a slow start for the Vulcans, opening the game missing the first seven shot attempts as APU took a 21-8 lead through the early part of the second quarter. But the Cougars cooled off as UH-Hilo warmed up to out score Azusa Pacific, 15-3, to claw back into the game with a final Kaile Cruz 3-pointer to reset the score at 29-29 heading into halftime.

The Vulcans continued strong in the second half with a 14-3 run but the Cougars flipped it right back with a 15-2 run to make it a two-point score heading into the final period.

UH-Hilo went cold midway through the quarter, shooting 0 of 5, as APU scored eight consecutive points to extend itself out front. A 3-pointer from Bree Olson at the 47-second mark helped cut the deficit back to just two points heading into the final sequences of play.

By The Numbers

Kawaha led the Vulcans with 26 points and fell one rebound shy of a third consecutive double-double. She also had four assists to reach the 400-mark in her career. Kawaha had previously become the program’s all-time assists leader earlier this season.

Molly Whitmore led the scoring for the Cougars, putting up 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Paige Uyehara (15) and Amayah Kirkman (13) also finished with double-digit scoring figures for APU.

UH-Hilo went 13 of 16 at the free throw line while APU shot 15 of 21.

What’s Next

UH-Hilo moved to 6-9 overall, 3-6 PacWest while Azusa Pacific moved to a 14-3 record (9-1 PacWest).

The Vulcans will be back in action Wednesday, Jan. 18 for the last hoops doubleheader of the season-opening home stand, taking on Biola (9-9 overall, 7-3 PacWest). The women will tip off at 5 p.m. followed by the men’s game at 7:30 p.m. in the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

UH-Hilo will return for two final home games on Feb. 8 and Feb. 11.

The Cougars will travel to Oahu to take on HPU and Chaminade through the end of this week.

UH-Hilo and Azusa Pacific will match up again one month from now on Feb. 16 in Azusa, California.