HONOLULU — No. 3 Hawai'i Pacific University used outstanding performances from the senior dynamic duo of seniors Chauncey Orr and Connor Looney as the Sharks downed Fresno Pacific 88-80 Saturday afternoon at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
 
The third-ranked Sharks (22-2, 14-2) maintained a tie at the top of the PacWest with California Baptist as they swept FPU in the season series. The Sunbirds (4-19, 4-12) dropped its sixth straight game.
 
"We were shorthanded because of injury and illness," said HPU head coach Darrin Vorderbruegge. "I'm so pleased that Chauncey and Connor stepped up, not only in scoring but in assists. We had to rely on them and they stepped up, getting the most out of them."
 
Orr, the 6-4 swingman from Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green, scored a career-high 34 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists. He went 7-of-12 from the floor, including 7-of-8 from the 3-point arc. Looney, the 6-2 guard from Palmer, Alaska/Palmer, collected 22 points with five assists and two steals.
 
The Sharks also got 13 points from forward Jonothan Janssen, the 6-9 sophomore from Noosa Heads, Australia/Mountain Creek, and 10 points from senior Clayton Guy, the 6-6 forward from Kansas City, Mo./Rockhurst.
 
Fresno Pacific got a career-high and double-double from Sam Burt with 26 points and 11 rebounds. T.J. Viney also posted a career-high with 20 points, while Oliver Herting added 11 points.
 
The Sharks played without senior starters Jordan Martin and Elliott DeFreitas, who sat on the bench in street clothes.
 
The Sharks shot 52 percent (30-of-62) from the floor, including 47 percent (14-of-30) from the 3-point arc. HPU also connected on 14-of-18 (78 percent) from the foul line. The Sunbirds hit 50 percent from the floor (16-of-32), with 7-of-25 (28 percent) from the arc. FPU made 5-of-7 shots (71 percent) from the free throw line.
 
HPU crushed FPU on the boards 44-to-28. The Sharks suffered 13 turnovers, but the Sunbirds turned it over just six times.
 
Fresno Pacific came out of the gate red hot, hitting three of its first four shots in building a 7-0 run in the first 1:40 of the game.
 
After a timeout, HPU went on a 9-0 run to take the lead on a Guy layup and that was part of a 21-4 run for the Sharks. HPU built a 20-point advantage before the Sunbirds trimmed it to a 48-35 at the half.
 
Looney opened the second half with a 3-pointer as the Sharks built a 16-point lead and kept the contest within 14-points from most of the second half. But with just under seven minutes to play and the Sharks holding a 76-62 lead, the Sunbirds made a move.
 
Viney nailed a 3-pointer with 6:41 to go that led FPU on an 11-4 run to cut the lead to 80-73 on Burt's layup with 2:55 left. HPU followed on the next possession with a Looney jumper to end the threat. The Sharks got 6-of-6 free throws from Guy in the final 96 seconds to keep the Sunbirds at bay. FPU got a final layup from Spencer Krannitz with two seconds left for the 88-80 final.
 
The Sharks are back on the floor on Monday evening when they host Academy of Art. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Moanalua High School Gym.