HILO, Hawaii – The Lions (9-6, 5-4) staved off a fruitless trip to the islands, emptying the tank for a physical victory over the Vulcans of Hawaii Hilo (1-14, 1-8).

Erik Howlin had 19 points tonight (7-14 FG, 3-5 3PT), including the game-winning leaner on the edge of the key with 1.3 seconds left. Kailen Rains had his highest scoring output as a Vanguard Lion, with his 13 points.

Sammy Howlin led the bench effort tonight with 11 of their 24 points— his most since December 2024 at Utah Tech. The reigning PacWest Defender of the Week in Aibigho Ujadughele was at it again, as he had six steals tonight as part of the 14 forced turnovers.

The Blue and Gold shot an abysmal 9-29 from the field in the first half, but used a solid 9-10 from the charity stripe to only be down by three at the break. The second-half, however, saw Vanguard look their best offensively in recent memory, with 60% from the floor evidence of their healthy ball movement.

Julio Montes II had a game-high 25 points (8-10 FG, 3-5 3PT, 6-8 FT) for UHH.
 

What Happened?:

Entering the game, VU understood that Hilo's record was deceiving, for the majority of the Vulcans' games have been decided within the last minute. How fitting it was for this contest to come down to the wire as well.

It did not start pretty, though, as the Vanguard outfit looked flat out of the gates. Right off the opening tip, Jamal Entezami of the Vulcans stole a haphazard pass from Bryson Metz for a breakaway slam to instantly invigorate the already buzzing home bench. Kailen Rains did take the lid off the rim on a mid-range jumper, but Vanguard still appeared to be sleep walking on both sides.  In the midst of the early action, Pape Cisse picked up his second foul of the first 150 seconds, putting the onus on Sammy Howlin to be the man for the next 17.5 minutes.

Montes II and Entezami quickly made the Lions pay for their lethargic effort, as they combined for the first 19 points without missing a shot, and VU found themselves starving for points in a nine-point hole with 10:50 left.

Devin Carson packed his lunch-pail, though, as he was fouled on a step-back three from the right slot to give VU three points from the charity stripe. He followed that up with a layup a minute later, with the contact sending him back to the line, and VU only trailed 21-16.

From there, the VU side was aided by Sammy Howlin's defensive presence, showing that he is more than a rim protector with two steals and countless deflections playing the passing lanes tonight. One of those steals led to one of his five made FT's, and the Lions cut it to two. With Hilo's offense rekindling, Sammy buckled down and scored seven straight, before his younger brother Erik scored the next five Vanguard points heading into the half (Hilo, 33-30).

Out of the fifteen-minute hiatus, "K-Rains" took hold of the reigns.

He hit a triple in the middle-third to kick off his quest to a gritty 11 second-half points. This was sandwiched between a pair of Erik Howlin buckets, including a breakaway slam to take a 37-36 lead off of another Boogie steal.

There would be six lead changes over the next five minutes, with Vanguard taking their penultimate lead of the night on another Erik Howlin triple with 12:31 left (VU, 47-45). Though they had the lead, it was clearly not safe. Thankfully for Lions fans, the off-ball movement continued to persist for Vanguard, as the bench got involved again with Tony Colley knocking down a trey and Devin Carson jabbing his way to the cup.

Vanguard's lead would never be more than five heading into the under-four media as the Vulcans stayed in the contest thanks to 18 free-throw attempts in the second-half. But Kailen Rains knocked down another tough shot when Boogie secured his own missed FT to give VU a 66-60 lead with 3:39 left.

Fast Forward to 1:10 left, and the Lions were operating with a one-point lead. Bryson Metz, who was banged up near the stage on the baseline earlier in the contest, clutched up with a signature mid-range pull to push the score back to 70-67 in favor of the Costa Mesa-residents. However, Brody Davis made a living on the glass for the Vulcans all night, and he came up with an offensive rebound on the next possession, instantly kicking out to Jayden Hosein in the far corner to knot it at 70 with 27 seconds remaining.

Coach Soliday utilized the short review to draw up a set for his bunch that was desperate to leave Hawaii with at least one win. They dialed up Erik Howlin's number and, unlike back at the hotel, let him order whatever he wanted. On the menu tonight was turning the tables and putting a Hilo defender on an island en route to a game-winning runner with 1.3 seconds to go.

Both coaches burned timeouts to get a look at what the other side was doing on the full-court prayer, but ultimately "K-Rains" broke up the full-court pass to send VU back home with a PacWest Record above-.500.

Of note: All three games that Vanguard played on this trip to Hawaii were within three points with less than 10 seconds remaining, making it four such games in a row dating back to the CUI contest. Vanguard is 4-4 this season in single-digit games.

It was the first time Vanguard has ever won on Hilo, as Coach Tim Anderson and Erik Howlin were the only two members of the squad to ever set foot on the island prior to tonight.

Vanguard's bench production has been impressive as of late, as they outscored their opponents in that category each of the last three games.

Howlin's performance tonight moves him into first in the PacWest in points-per-game (17.4).

What Was Said?: "To win on the island is hard! Hilo is as tough a team as we've played both mentally and physically all year," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday.  "They have had a lot of close tough losses this year, but that hasn't phased them at all.  They are relentless in their competitive fire and will to win. It's a testament to how well-coached they are and their culture. It took everything we had to win that game and fortunately we had Erik Howlin with the ball in his hands on the last possession. We had some great individual efforts tonight from different guys, but I thought our best quality tonight was the way we got connected at the offensive end of the floor in the second half. The result was shooting 60% in the half and creating the kind of rhythm that can move us forward as we prepare for some really challenging games coming up. However, if we want to be a consistent winner in this league, we must guard better than we did tonight.  We will be better for it, and it's always nice to learn and win at the same time."

What's Next?: VU returns to Costa Mesa to start a five-game homestand, beginning with the Cougars of Azusa Pacific on Thursday (7:30PM PT).