You can score this one a technical knockout. ADVERTISING You can score this one a technical knockout. There was more to it than that, but two technical fouls on the University of Hawaii at Hilo men’s basketball team came at
You can score this one a technical knockout.
There was more to it than that, but two technical fouls on the University of Hawaii at Hilo men’s basketball team came at critical junctures at the end of the first half and deep into the second half made a big difference in each instance Thursday at Hilo Civic.
Dixie State University (5-4 in the Pacific West Conference, 8-7 overall), with a lineup that towered over the Vulcans, opened a trip through the islands with a 97-79 victory over UH Hilo (3-6, 3-10) that snapped a three-game conference win streak.
The Vulcans led only once in the game, 3-2 on a beyond-the-arc shot by Jordan Russell in the first minute of the game but the Red Storm then used its height to its best advantage, working the ball inside throughout the game for a bushel of hoops in the paint.
UH Hilo was unable to get any significant scoring inside unless it was able to beat Dixie State down the floor, but the Vulcans were hanging around most of the way with outside shooting and when they were down 61-47 at the Red Storm basket, a loose ball provoked an exchange of words inside that resulted in a technical foul on UHH senior Salim Gloyd.
That gave Dixie State’s Mark Ogden two free throws which he made, then it was awarded possession and took the ball right back inside for another basket in the paint by Josh Fuller that made it 65-47 with 11:58 remaining after the Red Storm had come down the floor with a 59-47 lead.
Those points, along with two more free throws at the end of the first half on a technical foul whistled against Vulcans’ coach GE Coleman, took a toll.
“It looked to me like we were out of gas, but that’s no excuse,” Coleman said.
Dixie State’s inside game explained a lot about the final score. Josh Fuller had 22 (10-for-12), center Mark Ogden had 21 (7-for-12), and Trevor Hill had 14 (5-for-12). Those three combined to shoot 22-for-36 for 57 points and 20 rebounds. They shot 61 percent in the second half and 54 per centfor the game.
“Again we struggled to stop penetration,” Coleman said. “When we had 17 turnovers and give up 14 rebounds it’s hard to win.”
Russell Jordan led both teams in scoring with 26 points, Parker Farris had 19 for the Vulcans.
“Scoring against some of these teams is a lot different than scoring against a defensively sound, grind-it-out team like this,” Coleman said.
The Vulcans were holding on by virtue of their 3-point shooting in the first half and had an opportunity to close it down just a bit when they got a loose ball at Dixie State end of the court with 4.9 seconds to go. Jordan Russell raced diagonally down the court with the ball, but officials called him for a charge when Mason Sawyer jumped in front of the ball and was ruled to be there long enough to draw the foul.
Coleman and the crowd disagreed, vociferously.
“Are you kidding me?” Coleman said to an official. They exchanged some inaudible comments and whatever Coleman said was considered out of line. He was given a technical foul and instead of a chance at a 3-point shot that could have trimmed the edge back to six, Mark Ogden mad the two free throws and it was 42-31 at the intermission.
The first half played out pretty much the opposite from what UH Hilo would have hoped with Dixie State’s noticeable size advantage dominating the game. The Red Storm put four players on the floor taller than anyone the Vulcans have on the active roster, so the inside game became crucial early.
Statistics can be deceiving as they were at the half when both teams were credited with 20 rebounds. The difference was that the Red Storm were converting rebounds into baskets and when that wasn’t happening, they were able to throw it into the paint to the 6-foot-9 Ogden who made four of his seven shots, or Fuller who missed just one of five shots.
At the intermission, Dixie State had scored on 47 percent of its shots (16-for-34), while the Vulcans were able to managed only 32 per cent on 9-for-28, with six of those made baskets 3-point shots by Parker (3-for-8), Russell (2-for-4), and Ryan Reyes (1-for-2).
It was barely enough to hang on and keep the game close, and by the time Dixie State benefited from a second technical foul, it was too little, too late.
The Vulcans play the fourth of their five-game home stand Saturday when they meet Hawaii Pacific. The women’s game tips off at 1 p.m., the men’s game will follow.
