honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, January 29, 2002

HPU holds off UH-Hilo

By Leila Wai
Special to The Advertiser

As befits his name, Nate Block of Hawai'i Pacific gets his hand on this shot attempt by Hilo's Derek Mgbeke.

Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

It was a game so close that it hinged on an attempted 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Nate Block's putback with 32 seconds remaining and free throw with 3.6 seconds left lifted Hawai'i Pacific to a 69-66 victory over Hawai'i-Hilo in a Pacific West Conference men's basketball game at Blaisdell Arena last night.

Hilo's Brady Hyde missed a 3-point attempt from the top of the key as time expired.

"The amount of time left on the clock didn't allow for a clean set, but we had four good 3-point shooters in there," said Vulcans coach Jeff Law. "It is unfortunate that it got to that situation."

Block's putback gave the Sea Warriors a 68-65 lead. Hilo's David LaQua hit 1 of 2 free-throw attempts to close it to 68-66.

Block made the second of two free-throw attempts for a 69-66 lead.

Nash Subotic scored 21 points for Hawai'i Pacific, including 15 in the second half.

"In the first half I recognized that they were taking away my outside shot and in the second half I took what they gave me and that was penetration," said Subotic.

If the score wasn't telling enough, the statistics showed just how close the game was. The Sea Warriors shot 50 percent from the field, the Vulcans 47.3 percent. The Sea Warriors had 18 turnovers and nine steals, the Vulcans 17 and 7.

The one big difference was in rebounding, where the Sea Warriors held a 37-25 advantage.

"We felt that if we could go inside we would dominate the game," said Hawai'i Pacific coach Tony Sellitto. It worked. Block and Zack Anderson each had with nine rebounds to lead HPU.

LaQua led Hilo with 19 points, shooting 3-of-6 from behind the arc.

Hilo is 15-4 overall and 5-2 in the PacWest. HPU is 13-5 and 4-2.

Vulcans went on a 9-4 run in the final 6 1/2 minutes of the first half for a 36-31 lead. But the Sea Warriors' Nic Walters made a steal and a layup with 4.7 seconds remaining to bring them to 36-33 at halftime.

"It was a tough game, they gave us a good effort," said Subotic. "It was a must-win for us, because if we lost we would have had a tall mountain to climb to get to the championship. Now it's a little better."

Note: Hawai'i Pacific retired Benny Agbayani's baseball uniform (No. 28) in a presentation at halftime last night. Agbayani, a former New York Met, now plays for Colorado.