AZUSA, Calif. — No. 6 Hawai'i Pacific University suffered just its second loss of the season at the end of a three games in five days Southern California road trip as Azusa Pacific tripped up the Sharks 92-82 at Monday night in PacWest play at the Felix Event Center.
 
The sixth ranked Sharks (21-2, 13-2) saw its nine-game winning streak snapped and fell into a three-way tie for first place in the PacWest Conference. The Cougars (12-13, 7-8) avenged a 76-58 loss at HPU in January as they became the first team to score 90 points against the Sharks this season.
 
"We really didn't play very well tonight," said HPU head coach Darrin Vorderbruegge. "I didn't think we looked much like ourselves. We hit some shots early, they hit some shots early and we got out of our regular game plan. Now Azusa shot the ball really well. Some of it was our defense, but a lot of it was them. You could tell (APU) were a hungry team fighting for a playoff berth."
 
HPU had a hard time overcoming a 15-2 run by the Cougars midway through the first half that broke open a game that had six lead changes and a tie early.
 
The Sharks were led by seniors Chauncey Orr and Connor Looney as both scored 25 points on the evening. The swingman Orr, a 6-4 senior from Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green, chalked up eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Looney, the 6-2 senior guard from Palmer, Alaska/Palmer, added six boards and two swipes for the Sharks.
 
Forward Elliott DeFreitas, the 6-10 senior from Essex, England/County Upper, scored 10 points with a block. Guard Jordan Martin, a 5-11 senior from Goodyear, Ariz./Millennium, posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Azusa Pacific got an amazing game from forward Petar Kutlesic who collected 31 points with 11 rebounds and a block, while Connor Peterson added 27 points with six assists and three steals. Will Ferris added 12 points and Joey Schreiber 10 for the Cougars.
 
The Cougars had one of their best shooting nights of the season, hitting 51 percent from the floor (30-of-59), including 13-of-29 (45 percent) from the 3-point arc. APU also hit 71 percent from the line (19-of-27). The Sharks shot 43 percent from the floor (30-of-70), with 9-of-28 shots from the arc (32 percent). HPU hit 77 percent from the line (13-of-17).
 
HPU out rebounded the Cougars 39-37, but turned the ball over 15 times to APU's 13 times.
 
The Sharks and Cougars were tight early, with HPU getting the lead for the final time of the evening on a DeFreitas layup three minutes it that was erased on the next possession by a Kutlesic 3-pointer.
 
The Sharks kept pace through the first six minutes when Looney's 3-pointer pulled HPU within a point 19-18.
 
But that's when the Cougars made their move when Schreiber's layup started the 15-2 run that put APU up 34-20 with 8:51 to play.
 
The Sharks chipped back to six with 1:10 left in the half on a DeFreitas put back, but the Cougars followed with a Schreiber trey with 54 second left in the half for a 45-36 lead at halftime.
 
The Cougars kept the lead in the 12-to-14 point range most of the second half when the Sharks made their final charge.
 
With APU up 12 with 3:43 to play in the game, the Sharks made a quick 6-0 run with a pair of Orr free throws, a Martin steal and layup and a 3-pointer by forward Spencer Vering, the 6-6 sophomore from San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic pull within six at 79-73 with 2:55.
 
But in fouling to get the ball back, the Sharks allowed the Cougars to regain a nine-point lead and HPU never recovered.
 
Azusa finished with the 92-82 win.
 
"We just need to come back to finish strong," said Vorderbruegge. "We've got a lot of tough games coming up in the next couple of weeks."