BYU-Hawaii pounces on Cal St. Dominguez Hills, reaches West Region finale again

BYU-Hawaii punch return ticket for NCAA II West Region

LAIE, HI - For the second straight year, the Brigham Young University Hawaii men's basketball team has reached the NCAA Division II West Region Championship.

The Seasiders defeated Cal State-Dominguez Hills on Saturday night 84-71 in the semifinals in Laie, HI, to move one step closer to the Division II Elite Eight.

West Region Player of the Year Lucas Alves sparked BYU-Hawaii with 27 points and nine rebounds as the third-ranked Seasiders improved to 27-1.

BYU-Hawaii will host Cal Poly Pomona on either Tuesday or Wednesday night in Laie for a ticket to Springfield, MA.

The fourth-seeded Toros started the game strong, taking an early 12-5 lead before Alves drained a pair of three-pointers and a couple of free throws to ignite a 12-4 run that put the Seasiders on top 17-16.

Cheered on by a raucous crowd of 2,650 fans, most of them wearing Seasider red, BYU-Hawaii built a 12-point lead and grabbed a 42-33 halftime advantage.

Cal State-Dominguez Hills showed why it shared the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular-season title by fighting back in the second half.

The Toros chipped away at the Seasider lead, finally knotting the game at 59-59 with 8:03 to play in the second half on a jumper by senior guard Michael Hernandez.

But the Seasiders' Trenson Akana answered with a three-pointer to put BYU-Hawaii ahead to stay.

The Toros kept the game close until the final minute when a late flurry of baskets by BYU-Hawaii stretched the lead to the final margin.

Freshman Jet Chang (photo) provided a big boost for the Seasiders off the bench, scoring 11 of his 19 points in the second half.

Nate Sims added 10 points and six rebounds for BYU-Hawaii, while Akana and Jermaine Odjegba tallied eight each.

Marques Whippy scored only two points but pulled down five rebounds, handed out a game-high eight assists, and came up with three steals for the Seasiders.

Jerrell Smith scored 16 points and had six rebounds to lead Cal State Dominguez Hills which finished the season at 22-8.

Rodney Yearby had 13 points and six rebounds, Jonathan Toliver contributed 11, and Ryan Walton posted 10 in the loss for the Toros.