Senior day for UH-Hilo basketball will start with a familiar script.
The women take on Chaminade at 5 p.m. Saturday at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium and will honor seniors Patience Taylor, Amber Vaughn, and Alyssa Movchan.
Coach David Kaneshiro gave the three the ultimate compliment, saying, “I would trust them with my kids if I had to.”
Then in the men’s game at 7:30 p.m., matters veer off script: playoff-type basketball.
Tied for sixth place with Academy of Art for the final spot in the Pacific West Conference tournament entering the final day of regular season, the Vuls (10-11 PacWest) will try to hold down a Silverswords squad that tagged them for 114 points in a win earlier this season.
“You’re not going to find anybody in this conference better offensively than Point Loma,” Vuls coach GE Coleman said. “They’re capable of putting 105 points on you, or 114 like the last time. We have to find a way to do a better job.”
Barring overtime on the mainland, UHH will know where it stands in the playoff race at tipoff.
If Academy of Art (10-11), which lost at Azusa Pacific on Thursday, loses at Biola (11-10) in their 5:30 p.m. HST game, the Vulcans are in the conference tournament for the first time.
If the Urban Knights beat Biola and Holy Names (11-10) loses at Fresno Pacific (8-13) — that game starts at 2:30 p.m. HST — the Vuls are out.
If the Urban Knights and Holy Names both win, the pressure in on the Vuls to beat Chaminade.
Helping the cause for the Vuls would be another strong effort from junior Jordan Graves, who went for 10 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds in a win Tuesday against Notre Dame de Namur.
“When Jordan is consistent and focused, he’s as good a point guard as we have in this league,” Coleman said.
Taylor is a fourth-year Vul, while Movchan was a junior transfer. Vaughn, a Hilo High alum, has been at UHH for three seasons since transferring from Taft College (Calif.). She already has a degree.
“First-class kids on and off the court,” Kaneshiro said. “I’m proud of all of them.”
