HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University played its first game at home after a four-game road swing, but cross-town rival Chaminade upended the Shark return 73-65 in PacWest Conference play on Saturday afternoon at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
 
The Sharks (10-9, 5-6) rallied to keep the game tight before suffering their fifth loss in the last seven games. The Silverswords (13-6, 8-4) snapped a two-game losing skid and avenged the Sharks 102-82 victory in December.
 
"We had great intensity at the end of the game," said HPU head coach Darren Vorderbruegge. "But we had some lulls during the rest of the game. You've got to play hard throughout to win in the PacWest."
 
The Sharks were led senior forward Niksha Federico from San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic, who just missed a double-double with 19 points and eight rebounds to go with his season-high six steals and a block. Junior forward Spencer Vering of San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic, tallied 15 points, while junior forward Jonathan Janssen of Noosa Heads, Australia/Mountain Creek, posted 11 points with eight rebounds and matched a career-high with three blocked shots.
 
Chaminade was paced by Grant Dressler with 18 points to go with six rebounds. A trio of Silverswords added 13 points. Austin Pope just missed a triple-double with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists with two blocks and two steals. Erik Scheive and Justin Bridges also posted 13 points. Brett Reed grabbed nine boards as well.
 
HPU was held to just 39 percent from the floor (23-of-59), hitting 9-of-28 (32 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks managed just 53 percent from the foul line (10-of-19). The Swords connected on 50 percent from the field (27-of-54), including 10-of-22 (46 percent) from the 3-point arc to go with their perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. The Sword crushed the Sharks on the glass, outrebounding HPU 42-27. The Sharks did get 22 points from the 21 CUH turnovers, but allowed the Swords 16 point off of their 12 giveaways.
 
Chaminade opened the game with jumpers from Pope and Reed to claim a 4-0 advantage. But HPU rallied back. Vering's 3-pointer got the Sharks on the scoreboard and ignited a 10-0 run that put HPU on top 10-4 when Janssen buried a 3-pointer at the 15:10 mark in the first half.
 
But the HPU lead was short-lived. The Swords answered with a 13-2 run, retaking the lead on a Braden Koelliker 3-pointer and capping the run with a pair of Dressler free throws.
 
CUH built an eight-point that the Sharks took down to a pair on a 6-0 run capped by Janssen with 4:42 to go in the half. But the Swords returned volley with a 12-2 run with Scheive burying a 3-pointer with 1:21 to go. The Sharks trimmed the lead back on a layup-free throw 3-point play by Bettis and went into the half down 37-28 to the Swords.
 
HPU whittled the advantage to six points to start the second half before a 9-0 run by CUH made the contest a 15-point game. Chaminade extended the lead to 18, the largest of the game, with 11:55 to play on Nate Pollard's only bucket of the night.
 
HPU responded with a Federico jumper to spark a 13-0 run and pulled within five on Vering's 3-pointer with 10:09 remaining in the game. But the Swords responded and pulled the lead back to a dozen.
 
Trailing by 10 at 67-57 with 3:13 to play, the Sharks had one more push in them. Freshman guard David Rowlands of Dayton, Ohio/Moorpark hit a 3-pointer, and Federico followed by hitting one-of-two free throws to bring HPU back to within six at 67-61 with just under two minutes remaining. HPU forced a pair of Silversword turnovers, but missed 3-pointers and Chaminade's dominance on the glass wouldn't let the Sharks catch up.
 
Fouling to try to get the ball back, HPU sent the Swords to the line and a turnover gave Dressler and exclamation point dunk. HPU had points from Vering and Bettis in the final minute, but fell 73-65.
 
The Sharks continue with the second game of a four-game homestand on Thursday when they host Dominican (Calif.) in PacWest play. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.