BELMONT, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University got back in the win column on Wednesday night as the Sharks defeated Notre Dame de Namur 71-57 in PacWest Conference play at Gleason Gym.
 
The Sharks (14-11, 9-8) swept the season series against the Argonauts (5-18, 4-14) as NDNU lost its fifth straight contest.
 
The Sharks were led by junior forward Jonathan Janssen of Noosa Heads, Australia/Mountain Creek with 18 points and six rebounds with three assists and two steals. Senior forward Niksha Federico of San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic, scored 16 points with six boards and also added three assists and two steals. Redshirt freshman David Rowlands of Dayton, Ohio/Moorpark tallied 15 points for the Sharks.
 
Chazz Wade led NDNU with 22 points to go with five rebounds and five assists, while Stephen Baity added 12 points with two assists. Anthony Suber added eight points and led the Argos with seven rebounds.
 
The Sharks shot 53 percent from the floor (28-of-53), including 9-of-20 (45 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU also hit 6-of-7 (86 percent) from the free throw line. The Argonauts shot 52 percent (23-of-45) from the field, collecting 9-of-21 (43 percent) from the arc as well. NDNU hit two of its three attempts from the foul line. HPU outrebounded NDNU 26-23, and took advantage of the 20 Argo turnovers for 25 points as NDNU scored nine off of the Sharks 12 giveaways.
 
HPU never trailed, and was tied only when the Argos' Baity answered a 3-pointer from Rowlands on the first possession of the game. Janssen followed with a 3-pointer as did Rowlands as HPU went on an 8-2 run for a lead they never gave up.
 
The Sharks got their first double-digit lead on a jumper from Federico and after swapping scores with the Argo, HPU went on a 13-2 run over the final 4:47 of the half. When Rowlands' layup went through HPU took a 21-point, 39-18 lead into halftime.
 
In the second frame, the Sharks pushed the lead to 23 on a Janssen 3-pointer with 18:09 to play. While HPU never trailed by less than double-digits, the Argos trimmed the Sharks lead to 11 in the second half, HPU responded with a pair of 5-0 runs to push the lead back to 17 points. A closing dunk by freshman guard Emil Isovic of Kristianstad, Sweden gave the Sharks a 71-57 win.
 
HPU closes out its four-game mainland road trip on Saturday at Dixie State. Tipoff at Burns Arena is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. HST (7:30 MST).