Yevgeniy Dyachenko has made plenty of jumpers before. So while his back-to-back 3-pointers in overtime were the biggest shots of the game, neither provided him with his favorite moment of the contest. Nor were they for anybody else wearing a University of Hawaii at Hilo jersey.
No, it wasn’t the daggers, it was the dunk that followed.
Dyachenko scored eight straight points in overtime — capping it off with a bench-pleasing breakaway slam — and Tre Johnson picked up steam with 22 points and 11 rebounds Sunday as the Vulcans surged past Carleton College 81-71 at their campus gym.
Dyachenko, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, said his dunk was his first since junior college.
“I was thinking dunk right away,” he said. “I saw the open floor. I wasn’t going to miss that one.”
Dyachenko finished with 13 points, but it was his last two that provided the Vulcans (4-2) with an early play of the year nominee and brought his teammates running off the bench to congratulate him after the Knights (1-2) called timeout.
“The Russian stallion,” point guard Vandyon Lockett said.
Dyachenko’s late heroics, another big game from Johnson, a fast start by senior guard Darnell Williams (15 points) and a hot stretch by junior guard Marcello Campbell helped the Vulcans overcome what GE Coleman called a “Thanksgiving letdown” in the first half.
“I don’t know if it was too much turkey or what it was,” Coleman said. “We played right into their system.”
Carleton, a Division III team from Minnesota, thrived with its deliberate style and found its shooters in the first half, taking its biggest lead, 48-34, with 16:57 remaining in the game. Mitchell Biewens made 5 3-pointers and scored 17 points.
But as the Vulcans picked up the pace and their defensive intensity, the Knights’ shooting percentage steadily declined.
Campbell scored 9 of his 12 points as UH-Hilo went on a 20-6 run to forge the first of four ties in the second half.
Coleman liked that the Vulcans proved their mettle heading into Pacific West Conference play. They’ll visit Chaminade on Thursday.
“I thought that this was the first time we showed in adverse conditions that we can respond,” Coleman said. “We found a way.
“We were able to speed them up in the second half, which caused turnovers.”
None were bigger than when Williams forced Carleton guard Peter Bakker-Arkema into a five-second call as the Knights were trying to hold for the last shot of regulation with the score tied at 66.
Looking to get the ball to Johnson on the ensuing possession, UH-Hilo failed to get a shot off.
Williams kept the Vulcans in striking distance by scoring 10 points in the opening 13 minutes, while Johnson, a 6-8 junior, scored 18 after the break, reaching 20 points for the fifth time this season. Senior guard Joey Rodriguez contributed nine points and seven rebounds.
Williams and Carleton’s Shane McSparron (16 points) traded baskets to start overtime. Johnson missed a shot, but then got the ball back with a steal. With Carleton triple-teaming Johnson inside, Dyachenko did what he was brought to Hilo to do from outside.
“Coach just said, “Yev go spread the floor,” Dyachenko said. “I appreciate coach having confidence in me, because I’ve been kind of struggling the past couple of games. It felt weird, it was good to get
this game under my belt.”
Now he’s got to find a way to top his dunk. A reverse slam, perhaps?
“I don’t know, time will tell,” Dyachenko said.
Carleton37295—71
UH-Hilo 25 41 15—81
