Ninth-ranked BYU–Hawaii, now 7-1 for the season and 1-0 in the PacWest, scored the first eight points of the game and led by as many as 13 points in the opening half before the Vulcans rallied to cut the deficit to 44-41 at the break.  The Seasiders held the lead throughout the first half despite getting no points from leading scorer Lucas Alves.  Sims took up the slack by scoring 12 of his team-high 20 points in the period and pulling down six of his team-high nine rebounds before the intermission.

BYU–Hawaii pulled away again in the second half and led by 12 at 64-52 at the 13:54 mark of the period but the Vulcans rallied back again.  UH-Hilo tied the game79-79 on a pair of Perry Baggett free throws with 4:52 to play and went ahead for the first time in the game, 81-80, moments later on a lay-up by Charlando Brown.  Jay DeMaestri hit his third three-pointer of the game with 3:34 to play to give the Vulcans an 86-83 lead and, after the teams exchanged a few points, UH-Hilo still held a three-point lead, 91-88, with just 1:28 to play.

A.J. Reilly pulled BYU–Hawaii to within one at 91-90 with a pair of free throws at the 1:21 mark.  Brown drove the left side of the lane for the Vulcans and appeared to have an open lay-up, but Alves, despite playing with four fouls, came across the lane and blocked the shot.  The Seasiders recovered the loose ball with under a minute left and point guard J.R. Buensuceso penetrated the lane on the ensuing possession and found Sims for his game-high seventh assist and the go-ahead basket.

The Vulcans had a shot to win the game with seven seconds on the clock, but John Smith, who had an outstanding game with 30 points, saw his ten-foot jumper rim out.  Jacob Briggs grabbed the rebound for the Vulcans but his put-back attempt also missed and the teams batted the ball around a bit before Odjegba came up with the rebound and was fouled.  The senior calmly drained both shots to cap a 16-point effort.

Odjegba also put in an outstanding defensive effort on Vulcan leading scorer DeMaestri.  DeMaistri scored 16 points but had to work very hard for his shots and several of his points came when Odjegba went out of the game briefly with a turned ankle.  Trenson Akana came back from a foot injury to hit three three-pointers and score 19 points for BYU–Hawaii.  Alves came back to score 13 points in the second half and added seven rebounds and three blocks for the Seasiders.  Buensuceso tallied eight points to go with his assists and also grabbed four rebounds and Marques Whippy came off the bench to score seven points and snatch six rebounds.  Odjegba and Reilly each handed out four assists and the Seasiders recorded 25 assists to just 12 for UH-Hilo.

In addition to his 16 points, DeMaestri pulled down nine rebounds and came up with six steals in a solid defensive effort against Alves.  Brown finished with 14 points for the Vulcans, now 7-4 overall and 1-1 in the conference, and Baggett added 13 points and seven rebounds.