By Jacob Norling
January 4, 2025
 
(HILO, Hi.) Westmont Men's Basketball (5-9, 3-3 PacWest) could not take advantage of a quick start on Saturday night in an eventual 82-68 loss to the Hawaii Hilo Vulcans (9-5, 2-2). While Westmont threw the first punch of the contest, the Vulcans provided consistent blows for the majority of the evening, eventually leaving the Warriors down for the count as Westmont left Hawaii empty-handed.
 
The Warriors did not wait around on Saturday night as not even four minutes had passed before the Vulcans were forced into an early timeout. At that point, after consecutive Hilo turnovers, back-to-back layups from Adrian McIntyre sent an energized Warriors squad into a huddle up 23-8.
 
By the time of the second media timeout, however, a 10-0 run from Hilo sent a jolt into the Vulcan's bench as they quickly cut the deficit to five at 23-18 (11:52). Hilo's run would continue over the next several minutes, with a Westmont dry-spell allowing the Vulcans to pull within one at 26-25, capping off a 17-3 run for the home team over an eight minute span. Another basket from McIntyre, however, tempered the Vulcans' run as Westmont entered the game's third media stoppage leading 28-25 (7:17).
 
A pair of free throws from De'Undrae Perteete and a three-ball from Drew Ramirez kept the club out in front as the game entered its final stretch of the first half, but in the final moments of the half the Vulcans had several chances to draw even. Jarrett Bryant was able to give Westmont the slightest bit of breathing room entering the locker room, as a buzzer-beating layup from the junior sent the Warriors into intermission leading 40-37.
 
At the break, McIntyre had 14, Ramirez had nine, and Bryant had eight. While the club's offensive numbers were adequate, the Warriors biggest red flag was their inability to hold onto the basketball during the first half. By the end of 20 minutes, Westmont had turned the ball over 10 times, which led to 12 extra points by the Vulcans. At halftime, nine different Vulcans had scored. On the other end Westmont's starting five rarely left the floor, as their starters provided all 40 of their first-half total.
 
Things looked positive after an early second-half three-pointer by Bryant put Westmont up 45-39. By the time of the period's first media timeout, however, a 9-0 run by Hilo gave the Vulcans their first lead of the night at 48-45 (15:13). Things would get worse before they got better for Westmont, as a pair of shots from beyond the arc allowed Hilo to stretch its lead to 56-48 with 11:58 remaining.
 
With 8:35 remaining, another shot from long range for Hilo made it an 11-point deficit, which was the largest margin that Westmont was asked to shrink up to that point. Over the next couple minutes, however, three-pointers from both McIntyre and Ramirez pulled Westmont back within five with just over six minutes remaining.
 
Hilo all but ended the game over the next 90 seconds, however, when a three-pointer and two "and-one's" from the home team put the Vulcans up 71-58 as the game entered its final stretch. Minutes later, Hilo walked off the floor with an 82-68 win over Westmont.
 
Individually, McIntyre led Westmont with 24 points, five assists, and six steals. Elsewhere, Bryant collected 18 points, four boards, and a pair of steals, while Ramirez finished in double figures with 12 points.
 
Westmont's first game of the spring semester will take place on Saturday, January 11 at Concordia, when the Warriors take on the Golden Eagles at 4:00 p.m. Links to live coverage will be available on the Westmont Athletics website.