HONOLULU —No. 18 Hawai'i Pacific University saw Holy Names jump out to an early nine-point lead only to answer with a 22-3 run and never look back as the Sharks blasted the Hawks 90-67 in PacWest Conference play at Tobin Gym Monday night.
 
The 18th ranked Sharks (14-1, 6-1) continued the best start in school history with the win that opened a four-game PacWest Northern California road trip. The Hawks (1-14, 0-8) dropped their eighth straight game.
 
"I'm very happy with a win on the road," said HPU head coach Darrin Vorderbruegge. "We let them get a great start, but our guys never wavered and were solid to the end."
 
Guard Connor Looney, a 6-2 senior from Palmer, Alaska/Palmer, paced the way with 18 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals as six Sharks scored in double figures. Sophomore Spencer Vering of San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic, came off the bench and didn't miss a shot hitting 6-of-6 from the floor including 1-of-1 from the 3-point arc and 2-of-2 from the foul line for 15 points. Swingman Chauncey Orr a 6-4 graduate student from Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green, and guard Jordan Martin, a 5-11 senior from Goodyear, Ariz./Millennium both collected 13 points as Martin snared seven boards. Forward Elliott DeFreitas, a 6-10 senior from Essex, England/County Upper, and forward Deven Riley, a 6-3 junior from Wildomar, Calif./Elsinore each added 10 points with DeFreitas leading the team with eight rebounds.
 
Holy Names was paced by Dante Robinson with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Jason Webster scored 11 and Andre Green 10.
 
HPU shot 53 percent from the floor (34-of-64), and 33 percent (6-of-18) from the arc. The Sharks matched the HPU record by hitting all 16 of their free throws. Holy Names shot 47 percent from the field (27-of-57) and a whopping 46 percent from the arc (10-of-22) to go with 38 percent (3-of-8) from the charity stripe.
 
The Sharks dominated the boards 37-25 and forced 21 Hawk turnovers while posting 14 themselves.
 
Holy Names got the early jump on the Sharks by connecting on seven of their first eight shots and building a 17-9 lead six-and-a half minutes into the game.
 
The Sharks didn't panic. Orr got a layup off an offensive rebound of a missed 3-pointer, then got a steal and dished it to Looney for a transition 3-pointer to jump start a 7-0 run. After a 3-pointer by Jewels Sanders for HNU, the Sharks then added a 15-0 run to outscore the Hawks 22-3 over six-plus minutes for an advantage they wouldn't let slip away. HPU took a 42-29 lead into halftime.
 
The Hawks would close the gap to five points early in the first five minutes of the second half and kept the game within seven points for the next five minutes.
 
It was then DeFreitas' turn to put it away, bookending a pair of layup-and-free throw traditional 3-point plays around a Hawk 3-ball, and leading the Sharks on a 10-2 run for a 14-point lead and the breathing room HPU needed. The Sharks added another 13-2 run to put it away and go on for the 90-67 triumph.
 
HPU plays the second game of the four-game road trip to Northern California when the Sharks visit Fresno Pacific on Wednesday. Tipoff at the FPU Special Events Center is slated for 5:30 p.m. HST (7:30 PST).