Box Score HILO, HI (December 13, 2014) – The Hawai'i Pacific Men's Basketball Team (5-2, 2-1) dropped UH Hilo (4-5, 0-3) 73-68 on the Big Island on Saturday afternoon. The win gives HPU its first victory in Hilo since the 2009-2010 season.
Most people were expecting a close game after last week's HPU overtime victory. They were not disappointed; the game saw nine ties and 12 lead changes. No team led by more than five points all afternoon.
The game came down to the last two minutes, the Vulcans tied the game with 2:01 to go.
Justin Long hit a pair of free throws to give the lead back to HPU. After a stop, UH Hilo missed the second free throw on the next possession.
Clayton Guy grabbed the rebound and was fouled; he converted both foul shots to ice the game.
The game was very evenly played; both teams shot 46% from the floor and turned the ball over 10 times. UH Hilo shot a slightly better percentage from distance (6-13) but HPU made more shots (10-25).
The Sharks also had the advantage at the foul line converting 71% (15-21) of the attempts as opposed to UHH's 62% (10-16). Long was clutch in this regard, hitting 10-10 from the line, all in the second half.
"I am very proud of our guys; it is always difficult to play well on the road in conference. Hilo is a good team and I felt like we made plays when we had to in order to get the road win," said Head Coach
Darren Vorderbruegge.
Long posted a game-high 22 points,
Luke Hager scored 17 and added a team-high nine rebounds.
HPU stays on the road as it plays at cross-town rival Chamainde in a big PacWest game on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
