HONOLULU — No. 7 Hawai'i Pacific University battled with cross-island rival Brigham Young University-Hawaii before pulling away late to grab 91-79 PacWest Conference win on Thursday night at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
 
The seventh ranked Sharks (19-1, 11-1) remained at the top of the PacWest with the victory and continued the best start in school history. The Seasiders (5-13, 3-9) dropped their final meeting against HPU. BYU-Hawaii is dropping its athletic program after this semester.
 
"This was an old-fashioned rivalry contest," said HPU head coach Darrin Vorderbruegge. "Yes I'm proud of the way our guys grinded out the win, but I'm also proud of the game BYUH gave us. Gabe (Roberts, BYUH head coach) and his guys did a great job and made us work for everything we got. Hats off to them."
 
The Sharks were led once again by the Dynamic Duo of swingman Chauncey Orr, a 6-4 graduate student from Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green, and guard Connor Looney, a 6-2 senior from Palmer, Alaska/Palmer. Orr just missed a double-double with 21 points with nine rebounds and four assists. Looney chalked up 17 points with two steals. Forward Elliott DeFreitas, a 6-10 senior from Essex, England/County Upper, tallied 13 points. Guard Jordan Martin, a 5-11 senior from Goodyear, Ariz./Millennium, tallied nine boards with his six points and five assists.
 
The Seasiders Tanner Nelson exploded for 31 points to lead all scorers. Denhym Brooke double-doubled with 15 points and 11 rebounds to go with five blocked shots, while Gabriel Andrade came off the bench with 18 points.
 
HPU shot 46 percent from the field in the contest (32-of-69) that included 8-of-21 (38 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks hit 19-of-29 from the foul line (66 percent). BYUH hit 39 percent from the floor (28-of-71), with 33 percent from the arc (10-of-30) and 62 percent (13-of-21) from the line.
 
The Sharks outrebounded the Seasiders 51-39, and forced BYUH into 14 turnover to HPU's 12.
 
BYU-Hawaii came out strong to open against HPU, as Brooke got a layup and dunk to give the Seasiders a 4-0 lead in the opening minute of the game. The Sharks took it as a challenge, answering the call with a 13-0 run featuring a layup, two free throws and two 3-pointers from Orr to overtake BYUH and never give up the lead.
 
But that didn't mean the Seasiders wouldn't get close. BYUH got a 13-5 run to pull within a point in the first, before the Sharks held them at bay. A late 6-0 run sent the Sharks into the locker room with a 47-41 lead.
 
BYUH kept it close in the second half, clipping the lead to one at 53-52 some five minutes into the period. Orr answered with a layup and guard Darnell Bettis, a sophomore from Los Angeles, Calif./University, gave HPU some room. A later 8-0 run featuring a dunk by DeFreitas put the Sharks up by double figures and secured the HPU win.
 
The Sharks have a chance to rest up a bit before embarking on a key three-game Southern California road trip that opens in Riverside, Calif., against No. 4 California Baptist in Van Dyne Gym. The second meeting between the teams that could be for the PacWest Championship is set for 5 p.m. HST (7 p.m. PST).