HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University dropped its first PacWest Conference contest of the season as Fresno Pacific stunned HPU 67-54 on Saturday afternoon at the Moanalua High School Gym.
 
The Sharks (3-2, 1-1) fell behind by as many as 27 points to the Sunbirds (2-3, 1-1) before making a comeback in the second half.
 
"We were outplayed today by Fresno Pacific," said HPU head coach Darren Vorderbruegge. "We kept plugging away, we just were in too big of a hole to get out of."
 
Junior forward Ronald Blain of McDonough, Ga./Union Grove had his best scoring game as a Shark, leading the team with 16 points to go with four rebounds, three steals and three assists. Senior forward Jonathan Janssen of Noosa Heads, Australia/Mountain Creek was held to 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds with two blocked shots. Junior Scott Ulaneo of Rome, Italy/St. George's International posted seven points with six rebounds and a block.
 
The Sunbirds put five players in double-figures led by sophomore Elijah Hill and freshman Nate Kendricks with 14 points each. Sophomore Adrian Antunez added 12 points, while sophomore Aamondae Coleman had 11 points with eight rebounds. Senior Toby Christensen chipped in 10 points.
 
HPU shot 42 percent from the floor (21-of-50), but only 20 percent (4-of-20) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks went 8-of-12 (67 percent) from the foul line. The Sunbirds fell off late in the second half to shoot 38 percent from the floor (23-of-60), but canned 11-of-25 (44 percent) from the arc. FPU made 10-of-16 (63 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
Fresno Pacific dominated the boards against the Sharks 41-30, and HPU turned the ball over 14 times to FPU's 13.
 
After the Sunbirds broke on top to open the game on a 3-pointer by Hill, HPU responded with a 6-0 run with a pair of jumpers from Janssen and a jumper from senior guard Darnell Bettis of Los Angeles/University for a 6-3 lead with 16:54 left in the first half. However, FPU answered with a 17-2 run to grab a 12-point 20-8 lead with 9:45 left that stunned the Sharks.
 
HPU's first half shooting woes continued as Fresno piled up the points and a jumper from Coleman with 2:57 to play in the half gave the Sunbirds their first 20-plus lead. FPU extended it to a 24-point advantage before freshman guard Jacob Foy of Newcastle, Australia/Rowville Secondary canned a triple to send the Sharks to the locker room down 21 at 39-18.
 
The Sunbirds threatened to run the Sharks out of their home gym when Hill nailed a corner 3-pointer with 17:08 remaining to claim a 27-point 49-22 lead. HPU responded to close the gap to 17 in the next 10 minutes on a Blain layup.
 
Fresno Pacific was content to run the clock from that point on and rebuilt the lead to 23 at 63-40 with 4:42 left. The Sharks made a 14-4 run to close the game, but it was too little, too late as FPU claimed it's first win in Honolulu since joining the PacWest with a 67-54 triumph. The Sunbirds also snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Sharks with the win.
 
HPU is off for fall semester final examinations next week and returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 11 when the Sharks visit McCabe Gym to meet cross-town rival Chaminade. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m., following the women's game between the schools.