Posted on: Thursday, February 3, 2005

UH-Hilo climbs to No. 1 in West

Advertiser Staff and Wire

The Hawai'i-Hilo men's basketball team climbed one spot to No. 1 in this week's NCAA West Region men's basketball Division II poll released yesterday.

The Vulcans (18-2 overall, 6-2 Pacific West Conference) gained the top ranking after previous No. 1 Seattle Pacific (15-4) lost last week.

The PacWest has three ranked team: BYU-Hawai'i (11-4, 6-0) is No. 9 and Chaminade (12-8, 6-4) No. 10.

The top eight teams in the final regional poll qualify for the NCAA Division II Tournament. The regional tournaments are traditionally hosted by the No. 1 team in the region as long as that school has met the hosting requirements and has applied to host the tournament.

UH-Hilo hosts BYU-Hawai'i in two PacWest games today and Saturday. The Seasiders are currently in first place while the Vulcans are second.

MEN'S TOP 10

No. 7 Wake Forest 92, No. 4 Duke 89: Chris Paul scored 23 points and Taron Downey made two free throws with two seconds left, helping the host Demon Deacons (18-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) upset the Blue Devils (16-2, 6-2) at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Duke, which trailed by as many as 14 in the second half, closed to 90-89 on the 3-pointer by Sean Dock with three seconds to play, but was forced to foul.

No. 9 Louisville 77, No. 18 Cincinnati 70: Freshman forward Juan Palacios scored 17 points and banked in an 24-footer from beyond the top of the key as the shot clock expired for a 71-64 lead to seal the host Cardinals' (19-3, 7-1 Conference USA) victory over the Bearcats (17-4, 6-2) at Louisville, Ky.

No. 10 Oklahoma St. 77, Kansas St. 57: Joey Graham had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and John Lucas III had 19 points and 10 assists, leading the host Cowboys (16-3, 6-2 Big 12) over the Wildcats (13-5, 3-5) at Stillwater, Okla.

WOMEN'S TOP 10

No. 6 Notre Dame 64, No. 16 Boston College 57: Jacqueline Batteast scored all 15 of her points in the second half, and the host Irish (19-3 7-2 Big East) held the Eagles (15-4, 6-2) scoreless for five minutes down the stretch at South Bend, Ind.

No. 8 Baylor 72, No. 15 Kansas St. 62: Steffanie Blackmon scored 21 points and Sophia Young had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Lady Bears(16-3, 6-2), who held off the Wildcats (16-4, 7-2) at Waco, Texas, to extend their home winning streak to 13 games.