Vulcan basketball teams suffer losses to Azusa Pacific
AZUSA, Calif. — UH-Hilo’s men’s and women’s basketball teams continued their southern California road trip, suffering a pair of losses Thursday night to host Azusa Pacific.
The Vulcans will return to the Big Island to host Dominican (Jan. 11) and Academy of Art (Jan. 15).
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Next Thursday night’s matchup will be “Welcome Back Students” night sponsored by Pepsi. Attending University of Hawai’i at Hilo and Hawai’i Community College students will receive a free hot dog and Pepsi-brand drink with opportunities to win prizes at halftime.
APU and UH-Hilo will meet again Jan. 27 at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
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MEN: APU 87-85
Another firefight with another frantic finish, but this time the Vulcans came up on the short end of the stick as the UH-Hilo Men’s Basketball team fell 87-85 to Azusa Pacific Thursday night in Pacific West Conference action at the Felix Event Center.
The Vulcans charged back from a 10-point second-half deficit before trading blows down the stretch to a tied score with just over a minute remaining. Kalique Mitchell converted on two free throws to make it an 85-85 ballgame, but on the ensuing possession, APU’s Nate Kleppe was able to sneak his way unguarded under the basket for the easy go-ahead layup.
After a few empty possessions, Azusa Pacific had the opportunity to seal the game but Nadjrick Peat clubbed a Cougars shot attempt away for the rejection to set UH-Hilo up with the ball in its hands with single-digit ticks to go. However, Charles Elzie III’s three-point attempt came up empty as APU slipped away with the win.
Elzie III led with a season-high 26 points (8-13 FG, 8-10 FT).
Coming out of the halftime intermission, APU managed to put in three consecutive 3-pointers as part of a 13-4 run through the first five minutes to jump ahead on the scoreboard. But from there on out, the Vulcans flipped the switch to shoot 12 of 16 (.750) the rest of the way including 5 of 5 from beyond the arc with key consecutive 3-pointers from Jarin Edwards, Zoar Nedd and Charles Higby Jr. — a freshman who was seeing his first significant action of the season.
The Vulcans committed eight second-half turnovers to just two from the Cougars.
UH-Hilo moved to a 10-5 overall record (4-2 PacWest) while Azusa Pacific moved to 2-3 in conference play (3-9 overall).
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WOMEN: APU 68-61
It was another battle down the stretch but the UH-Hilo Women’s Basketball team fell just short at the end to Azusa Pacific, 68-61, Thursday evening in PacWest Conference play at the Felix Event Center.
The Vulcans were in catch-up mode during the majority of the contest after the Cougars managed to end the last five minutes of the opening quarter with a 15-2 scoring spree. UH-Hilo continued to fight, and despite falling to as large of a deficit as 13 points late in the third period, the Vulcans inched their way forward to flip the score to a one-possession affair with under 30 seconds to go following a 3-pointer from Kaile Cruz.
From there, APU was able to ice the game with free throws — finishing the game at 17 of 22 while the Vulcans took just eight total trips to the charity stripe.
Kamalu Kamakawiwoole led the Vulcans with 17 points (7-11 FG) with seven rebounds along with stout defense on three blocks and three steals.
Erica Ingram also posted double-digit points with two key 3-pointers down the stretch.
UH-Hilo moved to a 4-7 overall record (1-4 PacWest) while Azusa Pacific moved to 5-0 in conference play (11-3 overall).
