Vulcans split home doubleheader against Academy of Art
UH-Hilo’s men’s and women’s basketball teams split a doubleheader against Academy of Art, as the Vulcans’ women’s team won 68-53 and the men fell 80-63 on Monday night at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
After a quick trip to O’ahu to take on HPU (Jan. 20), the Vulcans will return for five upcoming contests at Civic, hosting Point Loma (Jan. 23), Azusa Pacific (Jan. 27), Chaminade (Feb. 3), Biola (Feb. 8) and Concordia University Irvine (Feb. 10).
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Women’s team
The UH-Hilo women’s basketball team raced by Academy of Art 68-58 in Pacific West Conference play.
Nursing a four-point lead at the top of the second quarter, UH-Hilo added on with a 12-3 run — featuring three-point splashes from Jeniece Harmon and Erica Ingram. The remaining six points came courtesy of Kamalu Kamakawiwoole, who tallied a team-high 16 points.
“(The Vulcans) were crashing the paint today so the kicks were there and we just knocked it down,” Kamakawiwoole said in a UH-Hilo press release. “I think we’re finally coming together we’re just sharing the ball more, learning how to play together and just working harder.”
Jazmine Soto further widened the gap with a quick 10 points (4-4 FG) through the first half of the final quarter, finishing with a season-high 13 points.
Keirstyn Agonias added 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting along with three of the Vulcans’ 14 steals, matching a season high.
UH-Hilo moved to a 6-8 overall record (3-5 PacWest) while Academy of Art moved to 3-6 in conference play (4-11 overall). The two teams will meet again Feb. 17 in Oakland, California at Laney College.
The top six teams at the end of the regular season will make it to San Diego for the 2023-24 PacWest Conference Tournament set for March 7-9 at Point Loma’s Golden Gymnasium.
UH-Hilo is just outside the bubble at No. 7 while Academy of Art slots in at a two-way tie for the No. 8 spot.
Azusa Pacific is at the top with an 8-0 record.
Men’s team
The UH-Hilo Men’s Basketball team was doomed by Academy of Art 80-63.
The Vulcans trailed by double digits for all of just 1:39 of the second half — after the Urban Knights jumped ahead with a 22-4 run through the middle portion of the opening period. During that span, UH-Hilo committed 11 of its 21 total turnovers.
The home team came out of halftime outscoring ART U 11-6 to cut the deficit to single digits on a 3-pointer from Jake Kosakowski, but it would be short lived as the Urban Knights managed to continue making shots to go on an 11-4 run before the 10-minute mark — making it a 17-point advantage at 55-38.
Still, the Vulcans were resilient, sparking a 10-3 run to stay within striking distance with minutes to go, but Academy of Art was just too hot from the field — as the Urban Knights closed out the victory with a 54.8 second-half shooting percentage while matching a season low of just eight committed turnovers.
The Vulcans shot 61.5 percent from the field in the second period and held the overall edge with 48.0 percent — but also made a season-low two 3-pointers while matching a season-high of 21 turnovers.
Kalique Mitchell led UH-Hilo with 19 points (7-11 FG) with eight rebounds and two blocks.
UH-Hilo moved to a 11-7 overall record (5-4 PacWest) while Academy of Art moved to 7-2 in conference play (11-5 overall). The two teams will meet again Feb. 17 in Oakland, California at Laney College.
UH-Hilo is in the hunt for a playoff spot, standing at No. 6 in the PacWest, while Academy of Art is tied with Biola at the top of the standings.
