Tribune-Herald The University of Hawaii at Hilo men’s basketball team will have to go back to the drawing board again — but at least the Vulcans have a 20-minute effort to try and build off. ADVERTISING Grand Canyon jumped out
Tribune-Herald
The University of Hawaii at Hilo men’s basketball team will have to go back to the drawing board again — but at least the Vulcans have a 20-minute effort to try and build off.
Grand Canyon jumped out to a big first-half lead Saturday and held on for an 84-71 victory at UHH Gym, sending the Vulcans to their seventh consecutive loss.
Kyle Speed and Jerome Garrison each scored 17 points as the Antelopes (12-7) opened up a 19-point halftime lead behind 63 percent shooting to improve to 6-5 in the Pacific West Conference.
“They shot the lights out but they had some open looks,” said UHH coach Jeff Law. “I was more upset that they were as open as they were … especially the two shooters. When the bigger guys hit one or two, there’s not a whole lot you can do.
“I thought our guards didn’t do a smart job of locating, finding and staying close to the shooters.”
Terrell Mack shot 8 of 12 from the field and led UHU (7-12, 1-10) with 18 points, while Dirk Snel added 14 and Paul Batausa had 12.
Down by 24 points at one point, the Vuclans got the deficit down to eight on a Mack jumper with 10:41 remaining, but UHH missed on a few more opportunities to trim the lead.
“The second-half effort was much better,” Law said. “Right now it’s tough on everybody, but nobody is going to give up.”
Both teams shot well. Grand Canyon made 54 percent of its looks, while the Vulcans finished a point higher.
Grand Canyon women 65, UHH 59, OT: Jallisa Butler and Maylinn Smith each scored 14 points and Jenna Pearson added 10, including a 3-pointer that put the Antelopes ahead for good in overtime.
The Vulcans (8-11, 5-6 PacWest) lost despite a standout effort from Kirsty Imai, who finished with a season-high 19 points, five of which came in the extra five minutes.
The junior guard made five 3-pointers, while Kirsten Shimizu added 11 points, including a pair of free throws that tied the game 53-53 with 21 seconds left.
Grand Canyon (9-2, 17-2) won its fourth straight to remain in a tie atop the league standings.
Butler grabbed 18 rebounds — nine on the offensive end — to help the Antelopes to a 45-26 advantage on the boards.
UHH shot just 36.7 percent.
The University of Hawaii at Hilo contributed to this report.
