Dominican dominated UH-Hilo in the paint. Things didn’t look good for UH-Hilo Vulcan men in the second half at Hilo Civic yesterday
With 9:54 remaining, the Dominican Penguins took a 61-54 lead and scoring on three consecutive put backs. They had seized the momentum of the game.
The Penguins had seven put backs and three slam-dunks. Two minutes later Justin Brown, a 6-foot-10 and 210-pound center, moved Aniwaniwa TaitJones backwards.
Brown then put in a close range jump hook to give Aniwaniwa TaitJones a 63–59 lead with 8:04 remaining.
The UH-Hilo Vulcans reacted by doing what they are best at: Quick defense and 3-point shooting.
Steven Hubbell made 1 of 2 free shots to bring the Vulcans to within 63-60 with 7:20 left. Darren Williams stole the ball from Jake Blazona’s and made a layup that cut the lead to 63-62.
Tait-Jones then made two free throws to make it 64-63 to take the lead. Jaime Strong hit a 3-pointer with 5:30 remaining to put UHH ahead 67-63. The Vulcans would never loose the lead again.
On Monday night, the Penguins were beaten by the Vulcans 86-78. This was before 78 people on UH-Hilo’s pass roster.,
UH-Hilo was the PacWest’s highest scoring team with 81.1 points per match. Dominican was the top defense with 65.7 points per game.
The UH-Hilo Vulcans will next embark on a four-game road trip, beginning Saturday at Azusa Pac.
