HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University saw its four-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon as Concordia Irvine upended the Sharks 62-57 in PacWest Conference action at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena.
 
The Sharks (4-2, 1-1) had an early 12-point lead evaporate to the Eagles (4-2, 2-0), then rallied from a nine-point third quarter deficit to regain the lead in the final period. But CUI didn't flinch down the stretch and held on for their second straight win.
 
"We let a bad second quarter put us behind the eight-ball," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "I'm proud of the way we battled back, but we just didn't get the ball to fall in crunch time."
 
Junior guard Janessa Manzano of San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius, topped the scoring chart for the Sharks with 15 points, with senior guard Spencer Gray of Centerville, Ohio, adding a season-high 12 points. Senior forward Jessi Reeves of Coffs Harbour, Australia/John Paul, tallied her second double-double of the year with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with a game-high four assists, two blocks and three steals.
 
CUI got 20 points off the bench from Montana Walters to go with 18 points from Sopavy Sang and 11 points with eight rebounds from Kennedy Fulcher. Riley Walsh pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Eagles.
 
The Sharks shot just 31 percent from the floor (22-of-71) and only 22 percent (5-of-23) from the 3-point arc. HPU hit 8-of-10 (80 percent) from the free throw line. The Eagles shot slightly better, connecting on 35 percent from the floor (19-of-54), and 32 percent (8-of-25) from long range. CUI took advantage of the charity stripe where it made 16-of-24 (67 percent).
 
HPU opened the game by jumping out to a 14-2 lead that included a 7-0 run midway through the first quarter. However, CUI responded with an 11-2 run of its own. The teams exchanged scores until Gray's layup with two seconds left in the period gave HPU the 20-15 lead.
 
The Sharks opened the second quarter with field goals from Reeves and sophomore guard Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt, and after a CUI 3-pointer from Seng, added a triple by Gray for a nine-point 27-18 lead with 8:14 to play. But that was the last score for HPU in the quarter as the Sharks shot just 17 percent in the period. The Eagles got a pair of free throws from Seng to start a 13-0 run the rest of the first half, taking the lead at 28-27 on a Seng layup with 1:43 to go.
 
When the horn finally sounded CUI sported a 31-27 intermission advantage.
 
The Sharks slump continued in the third as HPU went a combined 10 minutes without scoring before Reeves hit one of two free throws in a 6-1 Eagle run to start the new half. HPU did use a 3-pointer from freshman forward Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion to start a 7-0 run to pull within two late in the quarter, as the Eagles rallied back for a 43-39 lead at the quarter break.
 
HPU made a charge in the fourth, down 51-45 junior forward Gabriella Fotu of Auckland, New Zealand/Rangitoto got a layup that keyed a 7-0 run. The Sharks grabbed a 52-51 lead on a pair of Gray free throws with 4:28 remaining.
 
But the lead was short-lived. Just 11 seconds later on the next possession, Walters buried her fifth 3-ball of the afternoon to put the Eagles back on top to stay at 54-52. CUI extended the lead back to five before HPU chopped it to 59-57 with 46 seconds to play on a Fotu layup. But CUI hit three-of-four free throws in the final seconds to seal a 62-57 win.
 
The Sharks have the next week off for fall semester final examinations and will play again next Saturday evening when they visit cross-town rival Chaminade for a 5:30 p.m. contest at McCabe Gym.