UH-Hilo ousted in regional semifinal
Advertiser Staff
The University of Hawai'i-Hilo's "great ride" ended in Bellingham, Wash., yesterday after Cal Poly Pomona defeated the Vulcans, 73-62, in a semifinal game of the NCAA Division II West Regional.
Hawai'i-Hilo, seeded No. 2 in the region and ranked No. 8 in the national coaches' poll, finished the season 25-4.
"We were on a great ride," Hilo coach Jeff Law said. "A ride I really didn't expect to take back in September. They came together well and it's a lot of credit to the guys. They have no reason to hang their heads.
"This is a fantastic group of guys," Law added. "To get 25 wins out of this group, they did everything and more of what was asked."
However, the Vulcans struggled with their shooting in the regional. Alex Cabagnot scored 18 points, Osadonor Esene added 10 and Brian Graham seven yesterday as Hilo shot 36.7 percent (22 of 60).
"They struggled to find their offense, their flow," Law said of his three top scorers. "I thought we had a lot of opportunities throughout the game, but we couldn't buy a basket. Both nights we did not shoot very well at all."
The opposite was true for Cal Poly Pomona guard Jonathan Boyd, who scored a career-high 28 points to help the Broncos (23-6) advance to tomorrow's regional title game. The Broncos will play Alaska-Fairbanks (21-8), which beat host Western Washington, 88-66, in yesterday's other semifinal.
Boyd hit 6 of 10 from 3-point range and 10 of 10 from the free-throw line as the Vulcans focused their defense on Cal Poly Pomona's 6-foot-7 inside tandem of David Sybesma and Jeff Bonds.
"When you concentrate on a couple guys and somebody gets left open, it's his opportunity to get something done and to shine," Law said. "Boyd put on a show tonight; he was very good."
Bonds finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Sybesma added eight points and eight boards.
Cal Poly Pomona led by as much as 17 in the second half, but Hilo used a 10-1 run to close to 61-56 on Cabagnot's 3-pointer with 1:05 to play. The Broncos then hit 10 of 12 foul shots in the final 63 seconds to secure the victory.
The Vulcans return home today at 5:24 p.m. aboard Aloha Airlines flight No. 64.
Division II Regionals
Yesterday
Semifinals
West
At Bellingham, Wash.
Cal Poly Pomona 73, Hawai'i-Hilo 62
Alaska-Fairbanks 88, Western Washington 66
First Round
Northeast
At Waltham, Mass.
Bryant 69, Adelphi 48
Bloomfield 79, St. Anselm 77
Bentley 85, Queens, N.Y. 68
Southern New Hampshire 80, St. Rose 71
East
At Misenheimer, N.C.
Indiana, Pa. 76, Edinboro 73, OT
Mount Olive 86, Millersville 78
Pfeiffer 110, Wheeling Jesuit 94
Salem International 72, Alderson-Broaddus 61
South Central
At Commerce, Texas
Pittsburg State 73, St. Mary's, Texas 59
Tarleton State 75, Central Missouri State 72
Central Oklahoma 84, Washburn 66
Texas A&M-Commerce 62, SW Oklahoma 57
South
At Montevallo, Ala.
Central Arkansas 74, West Georgia 71
Lynn 89, Lane 61
Montevallo 74, Barry 48
Eckerd 81, Florida Gulf Coast 79
Great Lakes
At Findlay, Ohio
Ferris State 99, Indianapolis 79
Southern Indiana 67, Gannon 61
Findlay 83, Quincy 73
Wayne State 56, So. Illinois-Edwardsville 55
North Central
At Denver
South Dakota 94, Nebraska-Kearney 84
Winona State 64, Nebraska-Omaha 58
Metro State 83, Northern State 60
Minnesota State-Mankato 86, Fort Lewis 78
South Atlantic
At Bowie, Md.
South Carolina-Upstate 63, Winston-Salem 59
Virginia Union 85, Catawba 81
Bowie State 91, Tusculum 88, OT
Columbus State 83, Kennesaw State 78, OT
