HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University took it on the chin Sunday night as No. 7 UC San Diego used a strong second half start to roll HPU 72-49 in the opening round of the Ala Moana Hotel Hoops In Hawai'i D2 Power Invitational at the Hawai'i Convention Center.
 
The Sharks (3-5) dropped their fourth straight contest, while the No. 7 Tritons (9-1) extended their winning streak to six games.
 
The loss was the worst for the Sharks since a 78-50 defeat at Azusa Pacific on Feb. 14, 2015, and the fewest points scored in a non-exhibition since a 61-49 loss to Seattle Pacific on Nov. 21, 2014.
 
"We didn't defend the 3-point arc very well tonight," said HPU head coach Darren Vorderbruegge. "It put us in a bad position that we couldn't recover from."
 
HPU did not have a player score in double figures, but nearly got a double-double from junior Scott Ulaneo of Rome, Italy/St. George's International with nine points and nine rebounds. Senior Spencer Vering of San Diego/Mater Dei Catholic scored eight points with five rebounds, while sophomore Tavon Tarpley of McLean, Va./Langley came off the bench with eight points and four boards.
 
UCSD was paced by Scott Everman who made 7-of-11 3-point shots along with a standard field goal to record 23 points. Chris Hansen posted 16 points, Tyrell Roberts nine points with five assists, and Christian Bayne grabbed seven rebounds with five assists and eight points.
 
The Tritons shot 45 percent from the floor (25-of-56) and 48 percent (15-of-31) from behind the 3-point arc. UCSD also connected on 7-of-8 of its free throws (88 percent). The Sharks were held to just 33 percent from the field (18-of-55) and just 4-of-14 (29 percent) from the arc. HPU hit 9-of-15 (60 percent) from the foul line. UCSD edged HPU on the boards 36-34, and turned the ball over nine times to the Sharks 10.
 
HPU held the lead once. Following a layup by Bayne off the opening tip, the Sharks answered with a 3-pointer from senior Darnell Bettis of Los Angeles/University for a 3-2 advantage in the first minute. But about a minute later Everman hit the first of his seven treys and the Tritons never trailed again.
 
UCSD opened a 10-3 lead early on HPU, but the Sharks had a 5-0 run to pull back within two at 10-8 with 12:22 left in the half. UCSD pushed the lead out twice more only to have the Sharks get it back within one possession. The last time HPU got within three was on a Vering layup with 6:38 left in the half for a 20-17 deficit. That's when Bayne hit a triple to start an 11-2 run capped by an Everman 3 to put the Tritons up by a dozen. The lead was pushed to 14 before a Vering 3-pointer and a Bettis layup sent the game to halftime with UCSD leading by nine at 36-27.
 
The start of the second half doomed HPU as the Tritons used a 10-0 run on the way to a 21-4 run in the first six minutes of the half that gave UCSD a 26-point, 57-31 lead. HPU never closed the gap inside of 20 points. The Sharks got a pair of layups from Ulaneo in the last three-and-a half minutes while holding UCSD scoreless to end the game at 72-49.
 
HPU is right back at it on Monday against Emmanuel (Ga.) in the consolation semifinal of the bracket. Emmanuel fell to Western Oregon 76-64 in first round play. The game will tip about 5:45 p.m. at the Hawai'i Convention Center.
 
In other games in the tournament, No. 20 Chaminade defeated Western Washington 74-66 and Dallas Baptist upset No. 11 Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 79-78. Chaminade meets Dallas Baptist at 3:30 in one championship semifinal, while Western Oregon and UC San Diego play in the other at 8 p.m. Southern Nazarene faces Western Washington in the 1:15 consolation semifinal on Monday.