Box Score    |    Final Stats

HILO, Hawaii – Freshman Tony Miller scored 21 points and collected 12 caroms for the Seattle Pacific men, who amassed 22 more rebounds than Hawaii-Hilo in a 72-66 victory Friday during their final non-conference men's basketball game at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
 
The Falcons (5-5) halted a two-game losing streak by completing a sweep of the season series versus UHH (3-6). They defeated the Vulcans 88-80 on Nov. 12 in Seattle.
 
Friday's double-digit effort on the boards sparked Miller's third double-double and helped SPU dominate the rebounding battle by a 47-25 margin. The victorious visitors parlayed 15 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points compared to seven and four for Hilo.
 
Miller (Woodinville HS) shot 6 of 13 from the field and converted 9 of 15 free throws. Will Parker (Skyline HS) contributed 13 points for the Falcons, who also got 10 from Sharif Khan (Bellevue HS). A freshman guard, Khan hit 4 of 5 shots, including 2-for-3 accuracy from 3-point range.
 
Parker Farris led Hilo with 30 points. He was perfect in 11 attempts from the free throw line. Brian Ishola added 22 points.
 
SPU led by as many as 12 points after starting the second half with a 9-2 surge. The Vulcans steadily chipped away at that deficit and eventually closed within 66-63 on a jumper by Farris with 38.3 seconds left to play.
 
Miller hit the second of two free throws on SPU's next possession and, after a UHH turnover, Parker secured the lead on two charity shots with 22.5 seconds remaining.
 
The Falcons made just 19 of 30 free throws, but registered their final seven points from the line on 7-for-10 shooting.
 
SPU shot 44 percent for the game (23 of 52) and nailed 7 of  22 treys while limiting the Vulcans to 36 percent (21 of 59) and 4 of 17 on 3-pointers.

 

UHH was unable to capitalize on 20 Falcons turnovers, parlaying them into only 18 points, just one fewer than the 17 points SPU scored on 12 Vulcans' miscues.
 
In the first half, after Hilo's Ishola opened the scoring with a layup, SPU netted seven straight points and the last four came from Miller.
 
The Falcons monopolized the glass early, grabbing the game's first 11 rebounds. They were unable to take full advantage, leading only 16-14 by the time the Vulcan's picked up their first rebound 9:10 into the contest.
 
A 10-2 run gave the visitors the lead for good at 24-16 with 7:01 left in the first half. Miller tallied six straight SPU points late in the period before Arnold Silva's layup capped the scoring to draw Hilo within 31-26 at halftime.
 
The Falcons owned a 24-11 rebounding advantage at the break, but were on the downside of a 12-8 turnover disparity.
 
The SPU men take a lengthy Christmas break before returning to action with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference road games. They travel to Alaska to play at Anchorage on Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. Pacific Time and Fairbanks on Dec. 31 at 4 p.m. PST.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Friday, Dec. 16, 2016
Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium/Hilo, Hawaii
 
Seattle Pacific 72, at Hawaii-Hilo 66
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (5-5)
Wooten 2-6 0-0 4, Miller 6-13 9-15 21, Rasmussen 2-7 2-4 7, Parker 4-10 3-5 13, Betu 2-3 0-0 5, Khan 4-5 0-0 10, Long 2-3 4-4 9, Streufert 1-3 1-2 3, Eisenhower 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 19-30 72.
 
HAWAII-HILO (3-6)
Ishola 8-18 6-7 22, Farris 8-18 11-11 30, Wattree 0-4 0-0 0, Callaghan 1-7 1-2 4, Berinobis 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson-Wilson 2-7 2-2 6, Silva 1-1 0-0 2, Reyes 0-2 0-0 0, Canencia 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-59 20-22 66.
 
Seattle Pacific      31   41  -  72
Hawaii-Hilo          26   40  -  66
 
3-point goals--SPU 7-22 (Khan 2-3, Parker 2-6, Betu 1-1, Long 1-1, Rasmussen 1-4, Eisenhower 0-2, Wooten 0-2, Miller 0-3), UHH 4-17 (Farris 3-10, Callaghan 1-2, Johnson-Wilson 0-1, Reyes 0-1, Wattree 0-2, Ishola 0-1). Fouled out--SPU-Betu, UHH-Berinobis, Ishola, Callaghan. Rebounds--SPU 47 (Miller 12), UHH 25 (Ishola 8). Assists--SPU 11 (Parker 4), UHH 12 (Johnson-Wilson 3). Total fouls--SPU 19, UHH 27. Technical fouls--SPU-Betu, Khan, UHH-Berinobis, Callaghan. A-315.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage
Thursday, Dec. 29, 8:00 p.m. PST
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Ak.