Four members of the University of Hawaii at Hilo men’s basketball team and two members of the university’s women’s basketball team received Pacific West Conference recognition.
Carlos Ramsey, Jr. was named the PacWest Newcomer of the Year, and Nadjrick Peat was named the Defender of the Year – marking the first time in UH-Hilo history that two men’s basketball players received special awards.
Ramsey Jr. averaged 16.7 points a game and shot 54% from the field after transferring from Highland CC. Peat was a disruptive force in the middle of the paint on defense, leading the PacWest with 62 blocked shots. The 6-foot-11 center ranked seventh in all of Division II in the same category.
Ramsey Jr. was also named to the All-PacWest Second Team, while teammates Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones and Darren Williams were placed on the All-PacWest First Team.
It was Tait-Jones’ third selection to the All-PacWest team, after also winning Freshman of the Year and Newcomer in previous seasons. This year the New Zealand native averaged 17.7 points per game, 9.1 rebounds and almost four assists a contest. For the 5-foot-8 guard Williams, it was also his third selection. The senior guard averaged 15.9 points a game, 4.6 assists and converted 84% of his free throw attempts.
Other members of the First Team include Point Loma’s Kaden Anderson and Luke Haupt, Alex Wright of Biola, and Ken West of Azusa Pacific.
Mandi Kawaha earned a spot on the women’s All-PacWest first team for her third time. Kawaha became UH-Hilo’s all-time leading scorer this season with 1,485 points — and was second in the PacWest in points (17.8) and assists (3.9 per game). She was also the Vulcans’ most accurate free throw shooter, scoring on 84.2% of her free throws.
Kamalu Kamakawiwoole joined the All-PacWest Third Team. The senior forward averaged 24.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game for a season total of 640 points and 180 rebounds — 131 of which were defensive. Kamakawiwoole led the Vulcans in blocks with 32 this season, the third-most in the PacWest.
Starting tonight, the Vulcans’ men’s basketball team will compete in the PacWest Championship tournament in Honolulu.
UH-Hilo will enter the bracket as the No. 4 seed and will tip off at 7:15 p.m. against No. 5 seed Biola.
The Vulcans will look to rebound after going 0-2 against the Eagles in conference play this season — and suffering a 69-60 loss last week during the pair’s most recent matchup.
The winner of tonight’s game will advance to the semifinals and play against No.1 seed Point Loma, which dominated conference play this season with a 20-0 record and 25-3 overall record.
On the other side of the bracket tonight, No. 3 seed Academy of Art will play against No. 6 Chaminade in the first round, with the winner advancing to take on second-seeded Azusa Pacific at 5 p.m. Friday.
All games will be available to view online for free at portal.stretchinternet.com/chaminade/. Tickets can be purchased online through the HomeTown Fan app.