IRVINE, Calif. — No. 6 Hawai'i Pacific University senior guard Connor Looney made 6-of-6 free throws in the final 11 seconds to lead the Sharks to an 87-83 win at Concordia Irvine (Calif.) Saturday night in PacWest Conference play at CU Arena.
 
The sixth ranked Sharks (21-1, 13-1) held on to first place in the PacWest with the win and win their ninth straight, edging the Eagles (13-9, 9-5) who entered the game fourth in the league but are ineligible for postseason play.
 
"This was a very hard fought, physical game," said HPU head coach Darrin Vorderbruegge. "They are well coached and really extended the pressure on us. I've very proud that our guys held their cool and stayed focused down the stretch."
 
With his free throw heroics, Looney, the 6-2 senior guard from Palmer, Alaska/Palmer, posted a game-high 27 points. He was 7-of-11 from the floor with 4-of-6 3-pointers and in all 9-of-9 from the foul line. He also shared the team lead with four rebounds. Guard Jordan Martin, a 5-11 senior from Goodyear, Ariz./Millennium, chalked up 18 points, while swingman Chauncey Orr, a 6-4 senior from Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green, posted 15 points with three assists and four boards. Forward Spencer Vering had eight points including a key layup with 46 seconds to play to go with his four boards.
 
Three players paced the Eagles as Tad Dufelmeier tallied 23 points with four boards and three assists, Justin Davis had 20 points with three assists and Brian Chambers put up 19 points. Geoff Gerlach led CUI with six rebounds to go with nine points.
 
HPU shot an even 50 percent in both halves and for the game, totaling 24-of-48 from the floor, hitting 43 percent (9-of-21) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks cashed in 30-of-37 free throws, shooting 81 percent. The Eagles shot 75 percent in the second half (18-of-24) to finish at 54 percent for the game (29-of-54), but only connected on 6-of-19 from the arc (32 percent). CUI suffered at the charity stripe, hitting just 19-of-32 (59 percent).
 
HPU and CUI both grabbed 29 rebounds with the Eagles winning the turnover battle forcing 23 Shark giveaways while losing the ball 18 times.
 
It was a classic struggle for both squads as the lead changed 14 times with six ties. Both the Sharks and the Eagles held and lost seven-point leads.
 
HPU held a five-point 77-72 lead with 3:04 to play after a trey by Martin, but Concordia answered with a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to claim a 78-77 advantage with 1:19 to go.
 
The Sharks got a fast break layup from Martin to regain the lead 79-78 eight seconds later, only to have the Eagles come back with a Dufelmeir layup to lead 80-79 with 54 seconds to play.
 
HPU got the ball down court quickly as senior forward Colfax Nordquist from Elk Grove, Calif./Pleasant Grove drove the lane and dished to Vering for the layup with 46 seconds that put HPU up for the final time 81-80.
 
CUI missed a 3-point shot on the next possession, but following a timeout, HPU turned the ball over to the Eagles who then used a timeout. On the CUI possession following Vering got a steal and sent the ball to Looney who was fouled with 11 seconds to play.
 
Looney hit those shots to go up 83-80, but a quick foul by the Sharks gave Dufelmeier the chance to pull it back to 83-82 with a pair of free throws with 7.8 seconds to play. Again, HPU got the ball to Looney, who was fouled with just under six seconds remaining. The senior canned both of them for an 85-82 lead.
 
HPU fouled quickly to keep from having a 3-pointer attempted, but this time Dufelmeier made the first and missed the second with Looney getting the rebound with under three seconds left. Again Looney hit both shots to seal the Sharks 87-83 win.
 
"We had so many guys step up in the final minute," said Vorderbruegge. "Our senior leadership really pulled us through. All of them stepped up and I couldn't be more proud."
 
The No. 6 Sharks close their three-game Southern California road trip on Monday evening when they visit Felix Event Center for a 5:30 HST (7:30 PST) contest at Azusa Pacific.