HONOLULU (February 28, 2016) – After concluding an eventful PacWest Conference season with identical 14-6 records in league play, the Hawaii Pacific men's and women's basketball teams are poised for the postseason.
The PacWest Basketball Championships run Thursday, March 3 through Saturday, March 5 at CU Arena on the campus of Concordia University Irvine. For the first time in tourney history, the schedule will alternate between men's and women's games, a format that will result in the Sharks squads playing back-to-back contests on Thursday. By virtue of their regular-season records, both teams have been seeded fourth in the six-team fields.
The HPU men (19-8 overall) will take on cross-island rival BYU-Hawaii at 5 p.m. (3 p.m. Hawaii time) and the HPU women will challenge Dominican at 7:15 p.m. (5:15 p.m. Hawaii time). The men's quarterfinal winner will advance to face top-seeded Azusa Pacific in Friday's semifinal round, while the women's winner will move on to face either Azusa Pacific or California Baptist in the semis.
For the Sharks men, facing the Seasiders is nothing new. The two teams met on Saturday with HPU prevailing 80-58 on Senior Day behind 24 points from forward
Joel Feigler. On Dec. 16, BYU-Hawaii defeated HPU 97-91 in Laie, and Thursday's matchup will serve as the rubber match between the offensive-minded squads.
Feigler, a Las Vegas native and Central Arkansas transfer, is averaging 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game this season.
Chauncey Orr, a transfer from Bowling Green, has performed well in his first season with the Sharks and has notched 13.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and a steal per game.
Luke Hager, a HPU senior via UNC Wilmington, is scoring 13.1 points per game while pulling down 6 rebounds per contest.
The HPU women are looking to repeat last season's PacWest tournament championship-winning run that netted a program-best 25-5 record and a NCAA Tournament appearance. The current shiver of Sharks (17-10 overall) is a battle-tested bunch as the squad has played four Top 25 teams this year, including previous No. 1 Emporia State (Kan.) University.
The Sharks were successful in their previous matchup with Dominican and defeated the Penguins 66-54 on Jan. 14 at Blaisdell Arena.
Breanna Mackenzie, a sophomore from Australia, has paced the HPU women offensively as of late, scoring 329 points over her last 17 games. She is averaging 17.9 points per game on the season and also averages 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.
Tickets for the tournament are available via thepacwest.com with single-game tickets for $12 and all-tournament passes for $29. Student tickets will be sold at the door for $5, and children 12-and-under get in for free.
| 2016 PACWEST BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS |
| QUARTERFINALS – THURSDAY, MARCH 3 |
| 12:30 p.m. | Men | (6) Dominican | (3) California Baptist |
| 2:45 p.m. | Women | (6) Point Loma | (3) Academy of Art |
| 5 p.m. | Men | (5) BYU-Hawaii | (4) Hawai'i Pacific |
| 7:15 p.m. | Women | (5) Dominican | (4) Hawai'i Pacific |
| SEMIFINALS – FRIDAY, MARCH 4 |
| 12:30 p.m. | Men | 3/6 Winner | (2) Dixie State |
| 2:45 p.m. | Women | 3/6 Winner | (2) APU/CBU |
| 5 p.m. | Men | 4/5 Winner | (1) Azusa Pacific |
| 7:15 p.m. | Women | 4/5 Winner | (1) APU/CBU |
| FINALS – SATURDAY, MARCH 5 |
| 2 p.m. | Men | Semifinal Winner | Semifinal Winner |
| 4 p.m. | Women | Semifinal Winner | Semifinal Winner |
