Vulcans
stun Sea Warriors

HILO - It was a jump ball over which team was more surprised last night: Hawaii-Hilo, for winning its first HIAC basketball game of the season, or Hawaii Pacific, which lost to a team it had defeated by 51 points two months ago.

Give the edge to the Vulcans for their 101-89 victory over the Sea Warriors, the No. 2-ranked team in the NAIA. UH-Hilo did it in front of the biggest crowd of the year (1,700) at Afook-Chinen Civic, ending Hawaii Pacific's 10-game winning streak.

The Vulcans also did it without leading scorer and rebounder Merriel Jenkins, out for a second game with a strained back. Picking up the slack was senior center Scott Tharp (27 points) and freshman forward Eric Culberson (26 points, 10 rebounds).

Helped by 11 3-pointers in the first half, UH-Hilo took a 53-43 lead at halftime and never looked back. The Vulcans (9-17, 1-4) snapped a six-game losing skid against the Sea Warriors (23-3, 4-1) dating back to March of 1994.

Jurgen Malbeck led Hawaii Pacific with 26 points. Llewellyn Smalley added 24 points, hitting 7 of 8 3-pointers.

The Sea Warriors pounded the Vulcans, 111-60, on Dec. 7 in Honolulu.

Hawaii-Hilo 101, Hawaii Pacific 89

Hawaii Pacific: Parker 6-17 0-0 15, Lucas 6-9 0-0 12, Malbeck 10-12 6-9 26, Smalley 8-11 1-1 24, Richey 4-11 0-0 9, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Nolan 1-2 0-0 2, Kate 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 35-64 8-12 89.

Hawaii-Hilo: Culberson 11-15 0-0 26, Yule 2-7 3-4 8, Tharp 9-17 5-5 27, Odrick 4-13 2-2 12, Lindstrom 6-8 1-1 16, Collins 2-6 3-3 8, Carvalho 0-0 0-0 0, Padovan 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 36-68 14-15 101.

Halftime-Hawaii-Hilo 53, Hawaii Pacific 43.

3-point goals-HPU 11-27 (Smalley 7-8, Parker 3-11, Richey 1-5, Lucas 0-3), UHH 15-29 (Culberson 4-6, Lindstrom 3-4, Tharp 4-9, Odrick 2-5, Collins 1-2, Yule 1-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-HPU 33 (Smalley, Richey 7), UHH 32 (Culberson 10). Assists-HPU 22 (Richey 9), UHH 25 (Odrick 9). Turnovers-HPU 13 (Lucas, Malbeck 3), UHH 7 (Odrick 3). Steals-HPU 4 (Malbeck 2), UHH 7 (Collins, Lindstrom 1). Blocked shots-HPU 5 (Lucas 2), UHH 2 (Culberson, Lindstrom 1). Total fouls-HPU 16, UHH 12. A-1,000.