The University of Hawaii at Hilo men’s basketball team fell 79-51 to Biola Thursday evening in the first round of the Pacific West Conference Championships at Chaminade University of Honolulu’s McCabe Gymnasium.
It was a tight contest until the final five minutes of the first half, when the Eagles outscored the Vulcans, 12-4, with UH-Hilo shooting 2 of 7 as Biola took a 33-25 lead into halftime.
The Vulcans traded baskets through the first five minutes of the second period but couldn’t quite catch the Eagles before succumbing to a 9-0 run through the 12-minute mark that put Biola out further in front with a 17-point lead.
Biola flushed out the final five minutes of play with a 16-3 scoring margin as the Eagles defeated UH-Hilo for the third time this season to advance in the conference postseason tournament.
“It wasn’t our night,” Vulcans head coach Kaniela Aiona said. “Offensively, didn’t finish as well as we’d like to, didn’t shoot as well as we’d like to, and we couldn’t stop them in the paint. That’s it.”
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones led the Vulcans with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his 20th career double-double. The All-PacWest First Team selection also shot 8 of 10 at the free throw line.
The Vulcans matched a season-low two 3-pointers while the Eagles shot a season-high 66.7% (6 of 9) from beyond the arc.
“We had our chances,” Aiona said. “In the first half, I think we missed some easy ones. We were getting some of the shots we want — but again, Biola, you can’t speed them up. They take their time. Coach (Dave) Holmquist is a great coach, and they’re gonna play their game no matter what.”
Biola committed just five turnovers while forcing 11 giveaways and cashing in with 13 points off turnovers. UH-Hilo scored just one transition basket.
With Thursday’s victory, the Eagles notched a season sweep against UH-Hilo — also beating the Vulcans 69-60 in February and 61-54 in January.
All-PacWest Third Teamer Maximo Milovich led Biola with a season-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting while collecting seven boards.
“Hats off to Biola,” Aiona said. “They’ve had a good season, and they did a tremendous job of imposing their will tonight.”
In the last NCAA Division II men’s basketball regional rankings released before today’s selection show, UH-Hilo came in at No. 10 in the West Region.
In addition to the three conference champions out of the PacWest, Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the California Collegiate Athletic Association, five other teams will qualify for the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship West Regional based on these rankings in order.
No. 8 Seattle Pacific fell in the opening round of the GNAC Championships while No. 5 Academy of Art defeated Chaminade on the other side of the PacWest Championships bracket. Biola was ranked one spot ahead at No. 9, and with Thursday’s loss to the Eagles, the Vulcans will presumably be unable to qualify for further postseason play.
Nothing is certain until the bracket is announced during this today’s NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Selection Show at 6 p.m. Hawaii time on NCAA.com.
