HONOLULU — No. 3 Hawai'i Pacific University led wire-to-wire on Monday night as they controlled Academy of Art 76-60 in PacWest Conference play at the Moanalua High School Gym.
 
The third-ranked Sharks (23-2, 15-2) maintained a tie at the top of the PacWest with California Baptist with the win. The Urban Knights (6-16, 5-11) dropped its second straight game on the island.
 
"I'm so very pleased we've been able to win two straight conference games playing without two starters," said HPU head coach Darrin Vorderbruegge. "We have a team of great leaders, especially Chauncey (Orr) and Connor (Looney) who took it upon themselves to make sure we held steady."
 
Orr, the 6-4 swingman from Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green, posted his eighth double-double of the season with 26 points and 11 rebounds to go with three assists. It was the sixth time this season that Orr has notched 25-plus points in a game. Looney, the 6-2 guard from Palmer, Alaska/Palmer, tallied 18 points with seven boards and three assists. Forward Jonothan Janssen, the 6-9 sophomore from Noosa Heads, Australia/Mountain Creek, added 11 points with six rebounds.
 
ArtU got 16 points from Kendall Brown as the only Urban Knight in double figure scoring. Victor Nwaba pulled down six rebounds to lead ArtU with eight points.
 
HPU shot 46 percent from the floor (25-of-55), including 8-of-26 (31 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks buried 18-of-22 (82 percent0 from the free throw line. ArtU made only 38 percent from the field (21-of-55), with just 2-of-14 (14 percent) from the arc. The Urban Knights made 16-of-20 (80 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
HPU dominated the boards, outrebounding ArtU 42-28, but suffered 13 turnovers to ArtU's 10.
 
Once again, HPU played without senior starters Jordan Martin and Elliott DeFreitas, who sat on the bench in street clothes.
 
The Sharks opened with a 7-2 run in the first three minutes and pushed the advantage out to 10 points at 20-10 midway through the first half on a 3-pointer by forward Deven Riley, the 6-3 junior from Wildomar, Calif./Elsinore. The Urban Knights chipped away at the lead, getting it down to five at 28-23 on a pair of Nwaba free throws with 3:28 to play in the half.
 
HPU's Janssen answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the lead back to 11, where the Sharks kept it at 36-25 at the half.
 
The Sharks let the lead slip to nine midway through the second half, but a pair of 6-0 runs kept HPU in control. Orr got his 25th and 26th points on a pair of free throws with 1:10 to play to go up by 19, before ArtU's Cobe Williams buried a 3-pointer to make the final 76-60.
 
HPU returns to action on Thursday, hosting Point Loma in a 6:30 p.m. contest at the Moanalua Gym.