Tribune-Herald
The University of Hawaii at Hilo women’s basketball team has no shot at winning the Pacific West Conference title, but at least there has been a lot of fun climbing the standings.
Hillary Hurley posted her second straight double-double, with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Vulcans thumped Academy of Art 75-53 on Thursday in San Francisco, winning their fourth straight and bumping the team’s record over the .500 mark.
“The team played well. I’m really, really proud of all of our players,” UHH coach David Kaneshiro said. “They played hard, they played well and they played smart. That’s as good as we’ve played all year. To do that on the road and get another road win in the conference is really, really big. I couldn’t be prouder of our group. Tonight was a really good effort, and I’m really happy for our players.”
The Vulcans (12-11, 9-6) remain fifth in the conference and are still behind the Urban Knights (15-9, 11-5), who trailed 33-25 at halftime.
Hurley had good reason to play well.
Playing 205 miles from her home in Anderson, Calif., a little over a three-hour drive for her parents Matt and Annette Hurley, the 6-foot-2 senior put on a show. She hit 8 of 12 from the field and 6 of 8 free throws.
UHH junior Kirsten Shimizu also had a productive homecoming, scoring 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers. She lives in Sacramento, a 90-minute drive for her family.
The Vulcans made a lot of shots, converting 46 percent (22 of 48), and frequently reached the free-throw line, sinking 27 of 35 free throws.
Devin London scored 15 points and Jordan Rogers added 10 for the Urban Knights.
Men
AAU 74, UHH 71: CJ Brown missed a game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds to play, but the bigger subplots were UHH’s 21 turnovers and 63 percent (17 of 27) shooting at the free-throw line.
“It’s just another three-point loss (UHH’s third). We had 21 turnovers and got guys on the line, but free throws couldn’t be made,” UHH coach Jeff Law said. “We had a big lead in the first half, a big lead in the second half we let slip away. We just turned the ball over. It’s a very frustrating cycle right now.”
Despite the loss, the Vuls (8-15, 2-13) are not last in the 10-team conference. They’re second to last. The Urban Knights (4-22, 2-14) still sit in last place.
Terrell Mack and Kiel Myers each scored 15 points to lead UHH, which has lost three straight and 10 out of its last 11 games.
Ameer Shamsud-din scored 27 points and William Overton Jr. added 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting for the Urban Knights, who led 38-36 at halftime.
UHH led 71-70 on Myers’ 3-pointer with 1:41 remaining, but he committed a foul and Overton made two free throws 36 seconds later.
Then down 72-71, Zach Wilde missed a go-ahead basket with 35 second left. Overton grabbed the rebound and passed to Shamsud-din, who was fouled. He buried both free throws.
After Brown’s 3-point miss, Overton collected the last of his four rebounds and the game was over.