UH-Hilo holiday classic comes to a close

UH-Hilo’s annual Big Island Holiday classic ran from Friday to Tuesday, during which the Vulcans’ men’s and women’s teams faced off against a variety of opponents at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

The event, put on by TItleTown Events (previously Malika Sport Tours) and hosted by the University of Hawai’i at Hilo, is a modern reiteration of the Big Island Invitational Tournament from the 1990s, which featured many NCAA Division I programs with the likes of Oklahoma, Oregon State, Iowa State, Arkansas, Creighton, Purdue, Stanford and UConn among others.

The Big Island Classic moniker was also previously resurrected in winter 2016 when current UH-Hilo men’s basketball head coach Kaniela Aiona was at the helm of the Menlo College men’s hoops program where they played games at Kealakehe High School on the west side of the island.

The Vulcans will return to PacWest Conference action to close out the calendar year on the road in Southern California against Biola (Dec. 30). The Vulcans will follow with matchups at Concordia University Irvine (Jan. 2), Azusa Pacific (Jan. 4) and Point Loma (Jan. 6).

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TUESDAY, MEN: UH-Hilo 72 – SFSU 65

The UH-Hilo men’s basketball team capped off the 2023 Big Island Holiday Classic by capturing victory over San Francisco State.

On a rainy and cold Hilo night (below 70 degrees), the Vulcans came out the gates red hot to take a 10-0 lead, highlighted by two of Jake Kosakowski’s four early three-point splashes.

“Energy doubles when you’re doing good on both sides of the ball — the last two games we did really well on the defensive side early. Tonight, we were able to get a complete first half. We only had four turnovers,” fourth-year Vulcans head coach Kaniela Aiona said in a UH-Hilo press release.

Charles Elzie III snagged a last-second steal for a buzzer-beating banked-shot to give UH-Hilo a 40-18 lead heading into halftime, but the Gators outscored the Vulcans, 34-12, through the middle portion of the second half to make the score just a three-point game with under five minutes remaining.

However, the Vulcans stood strong and finished out the game shooting 3 of 4 from the field and 6 of 7 at the free throw line while the Gators made just one more basket and went 5 of 10 at the charity stripe.

“Every game was close in the Big Island Classic. They were all slugfests. It just shows the level of competition here is really high,” Aiona said. “We just feel great about bringing college basketball here to Hilo. Some of these teams traveled really well. It was a chance for us to spread the aloha and have people see what we’re about here.”

Carlos Ramsey Jr. led UH-Hilo with 18 points followed closely by 16 points (6-9 FG) and five rebounds from Kalique Mitchell, who was named to the All-Classic Team after averaging 15.0 points (.612 shooting) and 5.6 boards through three games.

Tuesday’s victory also marked Aiona’s 50th win as UH-Hilo head coach.

UH-Hilo moved to a 9-3 overall record (3-0 Pacific West Conference) while San Francisco State moved to 7-5 (1-3 California Collegiate Athletic Association).

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MONDAY, MEN: UH-HILO 57 – HASTINGS 52

The Vulcans slugged through Hastings College.

After overcoming a sluggish start, the Vulcans overcame an early six-point deficit and held onto the lead for the entire length of the second half. The lead never surpassed double digits. Coming down the final stretch, UH-Hilo toyed with a five-point lead as the Broncos managed to continue to stay within striking distance.

Hastings hit a 3-pointer with under 30 seconds to go to make it just a two-point ballgame, but Zoar Nedd and Cameron Wall iced the game with free throws for the victory.

Kalique Mitchell and Charles Elzie III led the Vulcans in scoring with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

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SUNDAY, MEN: ALASKA 64 – UH-HILO 61

Alaska’s Paul Johnson managed to hit from long range with 26 seconds left in overtime to put the Nanooks over the Vulcans.

Both teams added on eight points each through the first three and a half minutes of the extra period, capped by Charles Elzie III’s pull-up jumper from about 17 feet out to make it a 61-61 ballgame. After trading empty possessions — UAF went 0 of 2 at the free throw line; UHH turned the ball over on a travel violation — Alaska’s Jaycson Bereal Jr. kicked the ball out to Johnson at the right corner for the go-ahead score.

UH-Hilo called a timeout with 16 seconds and subbed in Jake Kosakowski for his first action in the overtime period as his contested long-range attempt fell empty.

The Vulcans trailed by as much as 10 points through the early part of the second half, but they slowly chipped away and gained a 42-41 lead on a Zoar Nedd 3-pointer near the midway mark of the period. After trading a few leads, Kalique Mitchell’s back-end free throw made it a 53-52 advantage with just over a minute remaining.

With seconds remaining, UAF’s Abdullahi Mohamed went 1 of 2 at the free throw line to send the game into overtime.

Mitchell led the Vulcans with 16 points (5-8 FG) and eight rebounds as Elzie followed with 13 points and three steals.

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SUNDAY, WOMEN: UH-HILO 63 – BRIDGEWATER STATE 48

The UH-Hilo women’s basketball team will head into the holiday season with a victory after taking down Bridgewater State.

It was a tight contest through the first 10 minutes of play as the Vulcans led, 19-18, heading into the second period. From there, the home team piled on 23 points (.500 from the field) while keeping the Bears to just 30.8 percent shooting to end the first half.

Jeniece Harmon and Keirstyn Agonias led with 18 and 15 points, respectively, as Kaile Cruz followed with 13 points. Both Harmon and Agonias were named to the All-Big Island Classic Team.

Kylie Grassi led BSU with 15 points and was also named to the All-Classic Team.

After taking 12 trips to the free throw line in the first quarter, Bridgewater State would only take nine more attempts (5-9 FT) the rest of the way. UH-Hilo went 4 of 8 at the charity stripe.

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SATURDAY, WOMEN: ANGELO STATE 69 – UH-HILO 62

Game No. 2 of the 2023 Big Island Holiday Classic featured the home team Vulcans as they clawed their way back and forth but ultimately were unable to catch the visiting Angelo State Rambelles.

A 10-0 run in the latter half of the third quarter propelled the Vulcans toward striking distance, but they just weren’t able to overtake the ‘Belles as ASU re-extended itself each time. UH-Hilo made it a 44-42 score after a Jazmine Soto steal led to a third-chance Jeniece Harmon 3-pointer, but Angelo State padded its lead to six points heading into the final period.

The Vulcans struck quickly to cut the deficit in half at 48-45, but the Rambelles again added on to take a nine-point advantage all the way to zeroes on the clock.

Harmon led UH-Hilo with 16 points (9-12 FT), seven rebounds and six assists.

UH-Hilo made 19 trips to the free throw line after taking just six and five shots, respectively, in its last two games. ASU had 20 free-throw attempts.

The Vulcans started the game shooting 1 of 9 from the field — finishing the quarter with three made-baskets and in a 12-point hole. An 8-0 run through the middle portion of the second quarter brought UH-Hilo back within one of its many striking-distance opportunities on the afternoon.

Angelo State was led in scoring by Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Sawyer Lloyd (14 points), both of whom were named to the All-Big Island Classic Team.

The duo also put up 30 and 19 points, respectively, in Friday’s Game 1 of the Big Island Classic against Bridgewater State.

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ALL-TOURNAMENT WOMEN’S TEAM

Kylie Grassi, Bridgewater State

Keirstyn Agonias, UH-Hilo

Jeniece Harmon, UH-Hilo

Sawyer Lloyd, Angelo State

Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant, Angelo State

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ALL-TOURNAMENT MEN’S TEAM

Sam Emich, Olivet Nazarene

Tristan Smith, Concordia Nebraska

Demarcus Hall-Scriven, Alaska

Kalique Mitchell, UH-Hilo

Jailen Daniel-Dalton, San Francisco State