HILO, Hawai'i – Hawai'i Pacific University saw a key 6-0 run late propel neighbor island rival Hawai'i Hilo hold off the Sharks men 74-67 in PacWest Conference play Saturday afternoon at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
 
It was the fourth straight loss for the Sharks (4-9, 1-7), while the Vulcans (7-5, 5-3) won their fourth straight.
 
Senior Darnell Bettis of Los Angeles/University led HPU with 16 points and five assists to go with six rebounds, while Lorenze Gordon-Haynes came off the bench with 12 points, while junior Ronald Blain of McDonough, Ga./Union Grove added nine points. Senior Spencer Vering of San Diego/Mater Dei Catholic led all rebounders with a career-high 12 boards with five points and three steals.
 
UH Hilo got 22 points and seven rebounds from James Griffin, while Jordan Graves and Larry Bush collected 15 points apiece.
 
HPU shot 41 percent from the floor (24-of-59), and hit 32 percent (7-of-22) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks went 12-of-14 from the foul line (86 percent). The Vulcans shot 47 percent (27-of-58) from the field and 5-of-21 (24 percent) from the arc. UHH went 15-of-20 (75 percent) from the charity stripe. HPU outrebounded UHH 39-29, but committed 18 turnovers to Hilo's 13.
 
The Sharks and Vulcans battled through the first 20 minutes with 10 ties and five lead changes with neither team leading by more than four points before a 3-pointer from sophomore David Rowlands of Dayton, Ohio/Moorpark gave the Sharks the lead they would take to halftime at 33-31.
 
A Bush jumper tied the game to start the second half before Bettis chalked up back-to-back layups that gave HPU a four-point lead at 37-33 with 18:27 remaining. The Sharks were up 41-38 a few minutes later when the Vulcans rattled off an 8-1 run, taking the lead on a Jordan Graves layup and free throw. UHH never trailed again.
 
The Vulcans built a five-point lead only to see HPU trim it to two at 55-53 with 5:15 remaining. That's when Graves started another 6-0 run and HPU never closed closer than five points the rest of the way, falling 74-67.
 
The UH Hilo victory split the regular season series between the schools as well as the men's basketball points in the PacWest Hawai'I Challenge. The win for UH Hilo was the first over HPU since Feb. 20, 2016 when the Vulcans edged the Sharks 87-84 in Honolulu.
 
The Sharks return home from a four-game road swing to play for the first time this season at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena on Tuesday against Point Loma. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. following the women's game by the two institutions.