Box Score HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University saw a 13-point second half lead evaporate as Azusa Pacific spoiled Senior Night with a 74-70 overtime win in PacWest Conference play on Thursday night at Moanalua High School Gym.
 
The Sharks (14-13, 9-10) lost their final home game of the season. The Cougars (19-8, 15-4) won their ninth straight. The loss eliminated the HPU men from contention for the PacWest Conference Tournament.
 
Senior forward Niksha Federico of San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic, posted a career-high 31 points and added 14 rebounds to lead the Sharks with his PacWest leading 17th double-double. Junior guard Darnell Bettis of Los Angeles/University scored 10 points with five rebounds and five assists, while redshirt freshman guard Lorenz Gordon-Haynes chiped in 10 points off the bench.
 
Azusa Pacific was paced by Mandrell Worthy off the bench with 19 points, including a pair of dunks in the final 35 seconds of regulation to tie the game and a pair of key free throws with 21 seconds left to extend the APU lead in overtime. Corey Landerveld and Will Ferris each posted 16 points. Petar Kutlesic and Tyson Kanseyo led the Cougars with eight rebounds.
 
HPU shot 33 percent from the floor (19-of-57), but nailed 8-of-19 (42 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks were 24-of-31 from the free throw line. Azusa Pacific hit 39 percent from the field (25-of-65), including 9-of-32 (28 percent) from the arc to go with 15-of-22 (68 percent) from the foul line. HPU was outrebounded the Cougars 43-41, with APU scoring 16 points on the Sharks 12 turnover while HPU got 14 points from the Cougars 11 giveaways.
 
The Sharks started the game 0-for-14 from the field as the Cougars led by five through the first 10 minutes. HPU's first field goal came on a Federico layup with 9:40 left in the half and ignited a 13-0 run for HPU over the next three-and-a half minutes. After a Kutlesic layup, the Sharks extended the run to 20-2, capping it with a Federico 3-pointer for an 11-point lead with 4:20 remaining in the half.
 
The Cougars trimmed the lead back to six before HPU pushed it to nine on a jumper by senior forward Albert Christensson of Lund, Sweden, but Worthy broke free for a layup to cut the HPU lead to 30-23 at halftime.
 
The Sharks looked to have control of the game after opening up the lead to 13 points on a 3-pointer by junior forward Spencer Vering of San Diego/Mater Dei Catholic, for a 44-31 lead with 14:45 to play. The teams swapped free throws and HPU still led by 13 with 13:41 left.
 
That's when the Cougars made it a game. Ferris hit a jumper followed by consecutive 3-pointers from Worthy, Ferris and Langerveld for an 11-0 run and a two-point HPU 46-44 lead.
 
The Sharks got the lead back to seven, only to have the Cougars rally again and eventually tie the game on a Langerveld layup with 6:14 remaining.
 
HPU got a series of three free throws on four attempts by Federico and a 3-pointer from redshirt freshman guard David Rowlands to go up by six points with three minutes remaining. The Cougars scratched back and tied the game with 1:05 remaining in regulation on a Ferris layup.
 
Federico followed with a 3-pointer with 47 second to go and Worthy found a drive for a dunk with 35 seconds left to get back within a point at 63-62 with 35 seconds to play.
 
A foul sent HPU junior forward Jonathan Janssen to the line with 29 seconds left, and he hit one-of-two free throws to put HPU up 64-62.  APU missed a layup but got the ball back when HPU had players knock the rebound out of each other's hands to give the ball back to the Cougars. Worthy got the ball just outside the lane and drove for the game tying dunk with 13 seconds left. HPU had a shot at the end of regulation, but a layup attempt by Bettis rolled off the back rim.
 
In the overtime, Worthy opened with a free throw, then buried a 3-pointer with 3:17 left for a four-point lead. Langerveld made it a 6-0 run for APU with a layup before Federico answered by hitting 3-of-4 free throw attempts and tied the game at 70 on a 3-pointer with 1:06 to cap his own 6-0 run.
 
APU's Selom Mawugbe was fouled and hit 1-of-2 free throws to retake the lead, then chalked up his fourth block of the night on a driving layup of Gordon-Haynes with 23 seconds left.  Worthy was fouled and converted the free throws for a 73-70 lead.
 
The Sharks could not get Federico the ball on the final possession and a 3-point attempt by Bettis was short with Kutlesic grabbing the rebound and fouled with four seconds to go. Kutlesic missed the first free throw, but made the second and sealed the Cougar win at 74-70.
 
HPU closes the season on Saturday with a visit to the Big Island to face Hawai'i Hilo at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.