University of Hawaii Hilo men’s basketball defeats visiting Biola

Darren Williams put up a big performance as Hawaii Hilo downed visiting Biola 97-89 on Monday at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

The Vulcans improved to 8-4 overall and 4-1 in the Pacific West Conference. The Eagles fell to 11-3, 5-2 in the PacWest.

The Vulcans were led by Williams’ 28-point performance. Williams shot 8-for-14 from the field, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. He also made 10 trips to the charity stripe, knocking down nine freebies. He rounded out his big game with five assists and five rebounds, including three offensive boards.

Williams led a potent Vulcans offense that shot over 50% from the field. The team also knocked down 46% of its 3-point heaves, while shooting 92% from the free-throw line.

After watching Williams score the first six points of the game, Biola put up a fight for the remainder of the opening half. Despite the tight contest, Hawaii Hilo managed to break away to take an eight-point lead at the break. The Vulcans carried that momentum into the second half, pulling away and pushing their lead to 18 points.

The Eagles battled back to within four points, but ran into a stout UHH defensive wall. The Vulcans then scored the final four points of the game on four free throws to ice the game.

Hawaii Hilo will return to the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium on Thursday to host Academy of Art at 7:30 p.m.