HONOLULU — Hawai'i Pacific University suffered from a turnover bug that spelled doom for the Sharks as Cal State Dominguez Hills spoiled HPU's home opener with a 77-73 overtime win in the opening game of the Hoops In Hawai'i Thanksgiving Classic on Wednesday night at the Moanalua High School Gym.
 
The Sharks (3-2) gave up the ball 19 times that allowed the Toros (2-4) 24 points off turnovers. CSUDH committed nine turnovers that gave HPU four points.
 
"We played hard and got the game into overtime," said HPU head coach Darren Vorderbruegge. "But you can't allow your opponent 20 more points off turnovers than you and expect to win a game."
 
The Sharks didn't shoot well either, hitting 37 percent from the floor (25-of-67). But they did hit 38 percent from the 3-point arc (9-of-24) and 14-of-19 from the free throw line. Dominguez Hills shot 34 percent from the floor (24-of-71), including 10-of-31 from the 3-point arc (32 percent). The Toros made 76 percent of their free throws (19-of-25. HPU dominated the boards 56-41
 
The Sharks had three double-doubles in the game, led by senior forward Niksha Federico of San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic, who 26 points and 18 rebounds before fouling out with 2:15 remaining in the overtime. Junior forward Jonathan Janssen of Noosa Heads, Australia/Mountain Creek, added 19 points with 11 rebounds and junior forward Spencer Vering of San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic posted 11 points with 10 rebounds.
 
The Toros were paced by Colton Kresl who exploded for 30 points, hitting seven 3-point field goals along the way. Malcolm Johnson double-doubled with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Mikey Hatfield added 12 points and eight boards.
 
It was the foul out of Federico in the overtime the changed the fortunes of the Sharks. HPU held a 3-point lead at 68-65 when the senior transfer from San Diego State fouled out with 2:15 to go in the extra frame. Without his ball-handling up the floor and the double-team that CSUDH gave him, the Toros went on a 9-1 run that flipped the momentum and lead back to CSUDH. The Toros held on for the 77-73 triumph.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills opened the game with a 6-0 run and held the lead most of the first half, expanding it to eight points when the Sharks rallied with an 11-2 run that included three 3-pointers by Federico to take a 23-22 lead with 3:21 remaining in the half. The teams swapped points before Kresl buried a 3-pointer with 1:47 left to carry a 27-25 lead into halftime.
 
The Sharks quickly came out in the second half, erasing the deficit on free throws by junior guard Darnell Bettis of Los Angeles, Calif./University. HPU then went on a 7-0 run to claim a nine-point lead on a Janssen triple for a 40-31 lead with 13:44 to go.
 
 However, the Toros cut that back down to a one-point advantage. The Sharks countered and extended the lead back to six before CSUDH's 7-0 run to retake the lead at 50-49 with 5:13 to play on Johnson's jumper.
 
The Toros pushed the lead back to four with Johnson's tip in with 1:04 in regulation, when Vering splashed a 3-pointer to pull within one. HPU fouled to get the ball back and Jonathan Nichols made one of two free throws giving the Sharks a chance. With 3.1 seconds left in regulation, Janssen flipped a layup over his left shoulder to knot the game at 60 and send it to overtime.
 
Federico hit a pair of treys in the overtime period before fouling out and HPU couldn't hang on without him.
 
The Sharks will look to bounce back on Saturday in the Hoops In Hawai'i Thanksgiving Classic. That's when the face Adams State (Colo.) in a 3:30 p.m. contest at Moanalua High School.