HONOLULU — Hawai'i Pacific University never trailed in the second half as the Sharks weathered a late comeback attempt in beating Academy of Art 65-61 Monday night in a PacWest Conference game at Mouanalua High School.
 
The Sharks (18-4, 15-2) chalked up their fifth straight win to edge into sole possession of second place in the PacWest a half-game ahead of idle Point Loma. The Urban Knights (13-11, 9-7) remained in sixth in the league after dropping four of their last five games.
 
"Academy is a tough team that gave us a tough game," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "We are grinding along right now and pulled out a good win. Every win right now is a good win."
 
The Sharks were led by junior forward Jessi Reeves of Coffs Harbour, Australia/John Paul, who was the only HPU player to score in double figures with 15 points to go with her eight rebounds. Junior guard Spencer Gray of Centerville, Ohio/Centerville and sophomore guard Janessa Manzano of San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius, each added eight points. Junior center Sarah Liva of Mililani, Hawai'i/Mililani racked up 13 rebounds, while senior center Aminata Cole of Anchorage, Alaska/Dimond pulled down 11 boards.
 
The Urban Knights were paced by Rodericka Ware with 18 points and four assists, while Helena Orts posted 16 points with seven rebounds. Jazzlynn Brewster pulled down nine rebounds to lead ArtU.
 
Both HPU and ArtU shot 24-of-69 from the floor (34.8 percent), with the Sharks hitting 4-of-21 (19 percent) from the 3-point arc and adding 13-of-21 (62 percent) from the free throw line. The Urban Knights hit 1-of-13 (8 percent) from the arc and 12-of-23 (52 percent) from the foul line.
 
The teams battled through 10 ties and eight lead changes, but nearly all occurred in the first half.
 
After holding a 17-16 lead following the first quarter, the Sharks grabbed the lead for the final time in with 1:36 to play in the second quarter when freshman guard Danielle Iwami from Seal Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos buried a 3-pointer and junior guard Breanna Mackenzie from Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill followed with her only trey of the game. ArtU answered with its only 3-pointer from Alana Simon cut the Sharks lead to 34-33 at halftime.
 
The Sharks pulled away a bit in the third quarter, going on a 12-4 run to open up 9-point lead at 46-37 with 3:50 remaining in the period. The Urban Knights trimmed the lead back to five at the quarter break 50-45.
 
ArtU opened the final period on a 7-2 run and tied the game for the final time with 8:04 to play on Orts layup that made it 52-all. It stayed that way until back-to-back plays from Cole and Reeves keyed a 9-0 run for HPU to give the Sharks a cushion. Cole got an offensive rebound and fed it to Reeves to break the tie. On the next possession, Cole blocked Orts' layup attempt, Gray got the rebound and Reeves worked the ball in for another layup.
 
HPU held the 9-point advantage with two minutes to play and had to hang on as Brewster got a layup, followed turnover that led to an Orts layup to cut the lead to five with 1:07 to play. The Sharks stepped up the defense and allowed only a final free throw from Brewster with six seconds to play for the 65-61 final.
 
The HPU women, who have played six games in 12 days, face a seventh in 15 when they host a showdown for second place with Point Loma on Thursday. The event tips at 4:30 p.m. at the Moanalua High Gym.