By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Following a tightly contested battle in the first half, Hawai‘i-Hilo catapulted Hawai‘i Pacific out of its home court with a furious second-half run last night to complete a regular-season sweep of the Sea Warriors, 84-64, at the Neal Blaisdell Arena.
Senior forward Alan Thomas led UH-Hilo with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists. Guard Stanley Ibia added 15 points, including 11 in the second half.
The Sea Warriors (10-15, 5-11 PacWest) played without junior forward Nash Subotic, their second-leading scorer. Subotic (17.2 points per game) suffered a season-ending wrist injury during HPU’s 83-79 loss to UH-Hilo on Friday.
Senior guard Michael Paul paced the Sea Warriors with 13 points. Guard Nick Spajic and center Jeff Jensen each added 12 points.
"We felt bad that (Subotic) was injured, but we had to play them just as hard," Thomas said. "We had to prepare as if he were playing."
The Sea Warriors felt Subotic’s loss most accutely in the second half as they struggled to put points on the board against the Vulcans’ aggressive man-to-man defense.
The teams played to a virtual standstill in the first half, combining for four ties and 18 lead changes.
Trailing 35-33 at the intermission, HPU tied the game on a short jumper by Paul 29 seconds into the second half. From that point on, it was all UH-Hilo.
Thomas kicked off a 7-0 run with a layup off an assist by B.J. Rogers.
HPU responded with a full-court press, a tactic that worked well the night before, but the Vulcans were ready. UH-Hilo head coach Jeff Law made sure players cut to the middle to help the person receiving the inbounds pass. They in turn pushed the ball to cutters upcourt.
HPU reverted to a more conservative match-up zone after the UH-Hilo point guard broke the press just past midcourt and hit Kyle Bartholomew with a bounce pass for a dunk.
The game was still in reach for HPU with seven minutes to go, but missed opportunities ultimately led to a decisive Vulcan run.
With the Vulcans up 62-53, HPU’s Dragan Karanovic missed the front ends of consecutive one-and-one free throw situations.
UH-Hilo’s Ryan Hogue then put back a missed free throw by David La Qua to kick off a 16-5 run that effectively sealed the game.
"When Nash is there, that’s the guy they rely on," Law said. "When he’s not there, even though I have a ton of respect for Spajic, you wonder who’s going to be their go-to guy.
"I thought our man (defense) worked well tonight," Law said. "We wanted everybody to accept responsibility for their man. With Nash gone, we didn’t have to overcompensate for any one player. Everybody could just take care of their own guy defensively."
With the win, UH-Hilo (15-10, 10-6) remains in the hunt for the Pacific Division title. The Vulcans trail Alaska-Anchorage by 1? games with two games remaining in the regular season.
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