HONOLULU — Defending PacWest Champion Hawai'i Pacific University opened the conference season on the right track as the Sharks never trailed in beating league newcomer Biola 67-54 on Thursday night at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena.
 
The Sharks (4-3, 1-0) snapped the Eagles (5-3, 0-1) five-game win streak in Biola's first PacWest Conference game.
 
"I was really pleased with our bench and their energy and enthusiasm," said HPU head coach Darren Vorderbruegge. "They rebounded well and kept us out in front."
 
Senior forward Niksha Federico of San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic, notched his fifth double-double double in seven games with his 28 points and 12 rebounds, as junior forward Jonathan Janssen of Noosa Heads, Australia/Mountain Creek, tallied 18 points with seven rebounds and four assists.
 
The Eagles were led by Levi Auble who double-doubled with 13 points and 10 rebounds with two blocks, while Blake Shannon Jr also scored 13 points with two steals. Trevor Treinen added 11 points.
 
The Sharks, who had shot over 45 percent for most of the contest, finished at 39 percent from the floor (24-of-62) and canned 33 percent (10-of 30) from the 3-point arc. HPU hit 9-of-11 from the foul line (82 percent). The Eagles had a strong second half, but were held to 37 percent from the floor (19-of-52), that included just 5-of-21 (24 percent) from the 3-point arc. BU made 11-of-15 from the charity stripe. HPU took the boards 40-33 and suffered 13 turnovers while forcing 14 from the Eagles.
 
The Sharks had this one from the get-go, using a 9-2 run that included a Janssen 3-pointer to force an early timeout by the Eagles.
 
More triples from the Sharks, who hit seven in the first half, helped HPU build a double-digit lead quickly. Three's from Federico, freshman guards David Rowlands of Dayton, Ohio/Moorpark and Amiri Chukwuemeka of Phoenix, Ariz./McClintock, helped the Sharks to a 14-point lead, and after an answer by Biola, a Federico 3-ball made the score 34-19 at halftime.
 
A traditional 3-point play by Federico and an alley-oop dunk by Janssen from junior guard Darnell Bettis of Los Angeles, Calif./University, followed by a Janssen triple helped put the Sharks up by 22 with 14:56 to go.
 
The Eagles chipped away at the HPU lead, then went on a 7-0 run to pull within 11 at 62-51 with 4:34 to go. HPU got a 5-0 run to regain control and held on for the 67-54 victory.
 
The Sharks ended a two-game losing skid with win and looks to make it a win streak on Saturday when they host Concordia Irvine in a 3 p.m. PacWest game at the Blaisdell.