Vulcans split another doubleheader

The UH-Hilo men’s and women’s basketball teams played their second doubledheader of the week, as the men won and women lost against Fresno Pacific on Wednesday at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

The Big Island Holiday Classic is set to return for another year, Dec. 15-19 at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

UH-Hilo’s men’s team will take on Alaska (Dec. 17), Hastings (Dec. 18) and San Francisco State (Dec. 19). The Vulcans’ women’s team will play against Angelo State (Dec. 16) and Bridgewater State (Dec. 17).

More information is available at HiloAthletics.com/BIC.

Both Vulcan squads will close out the calendar year on the road in Southern California, taking on Biola on Dec. 30.

UH-Hilo and Fresno Pacific will meet again in California on Feb. 22, 2024.

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MEN’S TEAM

Despite the differentials in the final score and team records, Wednesday night’s match was hotly contested as the UH-Hilo Men’s Basketball team prevailed over Fresno Pacific, 70-60, as the Vulcans moved to 3-0 in the Pacific West Conference season.

Five total technical fouls were issued out to keep the game in check, but it was a slow start for both squads until UH-Hilo hit on a 12-0 run midway through the first half to take a 17-13 lead. A subsequent 11-2 run before the half followed by a 12-3 scoring streak to open the second period further pushed the Vulcans ahead to nurse a near-10-point margin the rest of the way to victory.

Carlos Ramsey Jr. led with 25 points on an efficient 10-of-14 shooting performance as Nadjrick Peat once again brought the electricity with 11 points (three dunks) and five blocks.

UH-Hilo moved to a 3-0 PacWest record (7-2 overall) while Fresno Pacific moved to 0-3 in the conference (1-7 overall).

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WOMEN’S TEAM

Basketball fans were treated to a great back-and-forth bout Wednesday night, but it was the visiting Fresno Pacific Sunbirds who managed to pull away late from the UH-Hilo Women’s Basketball team, 70-58, in Pacific West Conference action at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

It was a tightly-knotted contest with 12 lead changes and eight tied scores as the Sunbirds managed to inch ahead at the end of the third quarter for a 51-50 lead. FPU continued to squeak ahead, outscoring the Vulcans, 9-2, through the first three minutes of the final period.

The Vulcans had one of their better overall shooting performances, going 54.7 percent from the field up to that point, but they would hit just 3 of 9 the rest of the way as Fresno Pacific closed out the victory.

UH-Hilo did most of its damage inside as it shot just 4 of 8 from beyond the arc — the lowest number of 3-pointers attempted since a Jan. 2022 matchup with Concordia University Irvine.

Keirstyn Agonias led with 15 points (7-9 FG) followed by 13 points (6-8 FG) from Fresno-native Jeniece Harmon.

UH-Hilo moved to an 0-2 PacWest record (2-4 overall) while Fresno Pacific moved to 3-0 in the conference (7-2 overall).