Honolulu, HI (February 2, 2013)- Malte Ziegenhagen scored 22 points and Marko Cukic recorded a double-double as the Hawai'i Pacific (7-10, 4-6) Men's Basketball team defeated University of Hawai'i at Hilo (5-14, 3-8) by the score of 68-66. The victory bumps the Sea Warriors in to sixth place in the PacWest standings, putting them in position for a covenanted PacWest tournament berth.

The Sea Warriors would lead the entire first half, extending their lead to as big as nine points. A late Vulcan run would close the gap to five at the break, but the Sea Warriors still held a 26-21 advantage.

The Sea Warriors held the Vulcans to 33.3% (8-24) shooting from the field while they shot 36% (9-25) from the floor. HPU held the visitors scoreless from behind the arc as Hilo went 0-11 from long range.

In the second half, the shooters for both teams began heating up. After double technical fouls on Kyle Milligan and Kiel Myers, the Sea Warriors would go on a 10-0 run over the next two minutes that saw three-pointers from Kawika Lyons and Ziegenhagen. After a Jelany White layup the Sea Warriors found themselves with an 18 point lead with nine minutes to play.

Any hope of coasting to victory would be dashed however, as UHH would go on a 7-0 run of its own and eventually close the gap to four points with 34 seconds to play. Clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch would seal the deal for HPU, as Ziegenhagen and junior point guard Kevin Attila would combine to hit all eight foul shots in the final 30 seconds.

Ziegenhagen would score 16 of his 22 points in the second half while Attila scored 13 after the break after being held scoreless in the first half. Marko Cukic would finish the game with 17 points and 10 boards in a strong effort in the paint.

HPU moves on to play inter-island rival BYU-Hawaii on Tuesday at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center; game time is scheduled for 5 PM.

Box Score