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Men’s basketball cruised to its seventh consecutive victory with a win against conference rival and nationally ranked Cal Baptist Lancers on Jan. 31. Four players scored in double figures as the team took home a 100-87 victory over Cal Baptist on Seasider blackout night, where the crowd wore black shirts.“I was really proud of our guys and the way they played,” said men’s basketball Head Coach Ken Wagner. “We came out strong and showed discipline throughout the entire game.”Player Scott Friel, a senior in EXS from Utah, had a perfect shooting game, sinking seven of seven shots from the field and six for six from the free throw line to lead the team with 20 points.Daniel Berger and Pablo Coro followed Friel’s performance, adding 19 points apiece, and Jordan Stone had several slam dunks down the stretch to finish with 18 points.As a team, BYU-Hawaii finished shooting a blistering 63.6 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from behind the arc. The Seasiders also recorded a season high of nine blocks, with four by Ian Harward. The Seasiders outscored the Lancers by 20 in the paint.“It was a real team effort these last two games,” said Robbie Mitchell, a senior player from Washington. “Everyone really stepped up and played really well. It is good to see the team meshing so well.”BYUH led the game from start to finish, winning the tip-off and scoring the first five points of the game on a layup from Friel and a 3-pointer from Coro. After a Cal Baptist layup, Berger scored four in a row to spark an 8-1 run, giving BYUH the double digit lead at 13-3 with a time of 16:17 left in the half.“Muy bueno, Pablo,” said Ryan Belliston, a senior studying business from Ohio. “Pablo has been shooting the lights out from the three and Ian Howard makes the paint a restricted air space for the opposition.”The Lancers cut back within single digits, but a pair of free throws by Coro and a layup by Friel extended the lead back to 12 with 14 minutes remaining in the opening period.A layup by Tyler Tuliau started a 12-point Seasider run that featured back-to-back three-pointers from Justin Yamzon and Luke Aston, as well as a jump shot from Cory Lange to build a 25-point lead at 41-16 with 8:29 on the clock before halftime.Cal Baptist did not go away with Baptist player, Ryan Berg, beating the halftime buzzer cutting the lead to 53-43 going into the locker room.The game remained close with both teams trading points, but the Seasiders were able to maintain their lead going into the final five minutes in at 84-77.With 4:10 remaining, Friel sank four consecutive free throws to increase the lead to 11. BYUH’s lead would grow to more than 15 points before the final buzzer.“The blackout was clutch,” said Harland Reist, a senior from Pennsylvania studying EXS. “Intimidation and energy from the blackout was at an all time high. We came out in the first half really hot and the crowd was so excited. It was good to be a part of that.”Uploaded Feb. 5, 2015

The BYU-Hawaii women’s basketball team suffered two straight home defeats at the hands of Azusa Pacific and California Baptist on Jan. 29 and 31, respectively. The two losses came after the Lady Seasiders were on a seven-game win streak, including four road wins. The Lady Seasiders fell to a 12-7 record overall and an 8-4 in conference, and are now tied for third in conference. “These were very tough opponents and they showed us what we need to continue to work on in order to be a top team,” said Head Coach Craig Stanger.The Lady Seasiders struggled to produce offensively in both games as they shot 35.6 percent against Azusa and 30.6 percent against Cal Baptist. Turnovers also proved to be a problem for the Lady Seasiders as they gave up 43 turnovers between the two games. Despite statistically staying with Cal Baptist, the Lady Seasiders found themselves behind 42-29 at halftime. The Lady Seasiders struggled most from the field during the going 11 of 36 in the first half (30.6 percent), while Cal Baptist went 16 of 35 (45.7 percent). In the second half, Cal Baptist’s offense and defense proved to be too much for the Lady Seasiders. BYUH had no response for the Cal Baptist inside game. Darsha Burnside, who scored 17 points along with 11 rebounds and 6 blocks, led Cal Baptist’s inside attack.The Lady Seasiders failed to get any spark in the second half as Cal Baptist ran away with the game giving the Lady Seasiders their second consecutive loss 87-53. Celeste Claw led the Lady Seasiders with 14 points and Mata Tonga added 9 rebounds. “It was a tough loss that we need to put behind us,” said Claw, a junior studying exercise and sports science from Arizona. “We still have a lot to play for this season.” Against Azusa, both teams started the game off trading baskets until a 6-0 run by Azusa off of back-to-back three pointers gave Azusa the 23-17 lead about mid-way through the half.The Lady Seasiders responded by closing the gap, 25-21 as both teams were plagued by a slew of turnovers.As both teams got the game back under control, neither team could muster a significant run to take a commanding lead. The Lady Seasiders struggled from the free throw line going 2-7 in the last three minutes, allowing Azusa to go into the half with a four-point lead 35-31. Azusa came out firing on all cylinders in the second half going on an 11-2 run during which Azusa’s Miriam Zabinsky had the hot hand scoring 9 of the 11 points.From that point on, the Lady Seasiders struggled to generate offensively as Azusa closed out the game with a 68-46 win. “It was a disappointing loss, but we have to pick ourselves up and move on from this,” said Whitney Fieldsted, a senior physical education major from Altamont, Utah.The Lady Seasiders will face Chaminade in Honolulu Thursday, Feb. 5 before traveling to California for a three game road trip.

The men and women who will decide the fate of James Holmes are being selected now, and BYU-Hawaii students from Colorado said they are interested in how the case will turn out. In July 2012, James Holmes killed 12 people and injured 70 during the midnight premier of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colo. Holmes has been “charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity,” reported the Associated Press. BYUH students from Colorado still remember the event and said they have strong feelings towards the case. McKenna Hawkins, a freshman from northern Colorado, said Holmes’ sanity shouldn’t be a factor. “Honestly, even if he were insane, I still don’t think that should affect his consequences because what he did was atrocious and not something that should be pardoned,” Hawkins said emphatically. According to AP, court officials had originally summoned 9,000 people. That number has already dropped to 7,000 due to undeliverable summonses and pardons given out. Judge Carlos Samour began the screening on Jan. 20, and will finish the first phase Feb. 9. Potential jurors have been excused for a variety of reasons. Those who have been excused so far had “doctors' notes, didn't speak English, or weren't residents of Arapahoe County, where the 2012 attack occurred,” said AP. Potential jurors have tried to be excused using a whole host of reasons, such as claiming their business will suffer if called into the jury, or that they know a police lieutenant in Aurora. During screening, a potential juror took pictures of the screening questionnaire against Judge Samour’s orders. Some have hand-written letters to Judge Samour elaborating their own reasons in hopes to be pardoned. Defense attorney Daniel King warned that excusing too many potential jurors this soon could be a problem, according to AP. Being excused from sitting on the panel that decides the answer to the question of Holmes’ sanity during the shooting hasn’t been easy. AP reported that one woman stated she felt “violently ill” and requested an ambulance, however her summons was only delayed, not excused. According to AP, King told Judge Samour, “You have to consider the fact that people may not want to sit on this jury.” BYUH student Zack Cusworth, a freshmen from Colorado studying psychology, said it is going to be hard to find unbiased jury members because of the mass amounts of information available. “If I were a jury member, I would have to listen to all the evidence given and as an American citizen I would have to follow the judicial system to make a decision.” Cusworth continued, “It’s going to be hard to find the right verdict. I think it is possible, but it’s going to be a lot of work.” AP estimated it could take until June to fill the 12 juror slots and the 12 alternate slots. Uploaded Feb. 3

Although last year’s Academy Award’s best picture recognized black filmmaker Steve McQueen for his production of 12 Years a Slave, this year’s nominations are exclusively white. USA Today reporter Bryan Alexander, said for the first time since 1998, “the 20 contenders for lead and supporting actor and actress are all white.” Additionally, no women were nominated for the directing, writing or cinematography categories. After the announcement on January 15th, #OscarsSoWhite became a trending hashtag on Twitter, sparking a national debate on diversity, or in the case of the Oscars, the lack thereof.In reaction to the Oscar nominations, Lanae Harris, a freshman from Riverside, CA, commented, “I think that it’s more than there not being any people of color nominated. It’s that we know there is so much talent in the industry contributed by people of color in more dynamic roles than the help, a slave, or a prison inmate, and it’s going unrecognized. It’s almost as if they didn’t try to hide the fact that we—people of color—don’t matter.” Emery Adona, a freshman from Northern Idaho gave an opinion at almost the opposite side of the spectrum from Harris: “I think all the nominees deserve it, and color had no hold on the Academy’s choices.” Adona’s comment brings up the identity of the nominators. Reports from the Los Angeles Times shed light on this topic. The LA Times found “Oscar voters are nearly 94% Caucasian and 77% male… Blacks are about 2% of the academy, and Latinos are less than 2%. Oscar voters have a median age of 62, the study showed. People younger than 50 constitute just 14% of the membership.” Maya Thomas, a junior majoring in anthropology, stated, “I don’t know how they vote, what the criteria is, or why this year’s nominee list was all white. What I do know is that when I see someone who looks like me, with my same skin on screen and being recognized for their phenomenal acting, I swell with a sense of pride.” Thomas continued, “Diverse representation in filmmaking is so important because kids just like my little sisters have someone they have a connection to in other occupations than a football player.” The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the final picks for the 2015 Oscars on February 22nd, 4pm PST. For more information on nominees in all categories, visit http://oscar.go.com/nominees.

Shocked by the amount of added sugar in their favorite snacks, BYU-Hawaii said they were going to be more mindful about what they are eating.Zachary Giles, a junior ICS major from England, said he unconsciously consumes at least twice the recommended amount of sugar when eating the candy Hi-Chews. Hi-Chews have 31 grams of added sugar for every 10 pieces. Giles admitted, “I had no idea. At the end of the day, I’ve probably eaten a 100 grams of sugar.”In the United States, the average consumption of added sugar per person is 90 grams in one day, reports Kitchen Daily. According to the American Heart Association, eating that much sugar daily is problematic. Added sugar, says AHA, is sugar put in foods in addition to any natural sugars present. Sucrose and high fructose corn syrup are common examples of added sugar.The AHA says men should consume 36 grams of added sugar daily and women should consume 24 grams -- not including natural sugars in fruits and vegetables. Like Giles, Alison Reece, a sophomore hospitality and tourism management major from Utah, also said she had no idea her favorite snack was saturated with so much added sugar. Packed with 15 grams of added sugar per ounce, the Zebra brand chocolate-covered popcorn is Reece’s favorite snack. Reece said, “Knowing that I should only eat 24 grams of added sugar daily, I am now going to have to be more aware of what I am eating.”BuzzFeed Life staff member Christine Byrne writes, “The problem with sugar is that it just makes you crave more sugar.” Byrne continues, “Sugar triggers your brain’s reward center . . .the problem is that constantly eating too much sugar dulls this feel-good response.” According to Byrnes, this means a person will likely eat more because it takes larger amounts of added sugars to meet those feel-good responses. Internationally, Brazil has the No. 1 highest consumption of sugar in the world at 152 grams per person per day, says Medical Daily. Russia falls right behind Brazil with 108 grams of added sugar per person per day, which adds up to one forth of a pound. By contrast, Indonesia and Pakistan each consume 62 grams, India follows with 58 grams, and China consumes about 33 grams per day. Juliana Dicenzo, an exercise and sports science major from Utah, said from her experience visiting family in Brazil, she was not surprised Brazil is No. 1 in the world for individual sugar consumption. Dicenzo said her favorite snack she gets when visiting Brazil is Brigadiero. “It’s a rich, carmely chocolate ball, and in Brazil they have a bunch of different toppings like sugar.”Uploaded Feb. 2, 2015