BELMONT, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University led nearly wire-to-wire in snapping a six-game losing streak with an 81-57 PacWest Conference victory over Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday night at Gleason Gym.
 
The Sharks (5-11, 2-9) trailed only once in the contest before handing the Argonauts (0-18, 0-12) their 18th straight loss.
 
The balanced scoring Sharks were led by the trio of senior Jonathan Janssen of Noosa Heads, Australia/Mountain State, junior Neema Namdar of Sandy, Utah/Alta, and sophomore Tavon Tarpley of McLean, Va./Langley with 11 points each. Junior Daniel Melifonwu of San Diego/Lincoln, senior Spencer Vering of San Diego/Mater Dei and sophomore Lorenze Gordon-Haynes of Columbus, Ohio/Africentric all added nine points, with Melifonwu leading the team with seven rebounds.
 
The Argonauts duo of RJ Lewis and Val Wilson chalked up 14 points, with Louis adding five steals and four assists. Chazz Wade led NDNU with four rebounds and five assists.
 
HPU shot an outstanding 56 percent from the floor (34-of-61), including 12-of-23 (52 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks made just 1-of-4 free throws (25 percent). The Argos hit 42 percent (20-of-48) from the field, including 6-of-17 (35 percent) from the arc. NDNU connected on 79 percent (11-of-14) of its shots from the charity stripe. The Sharks dominated the glass 40-18, but turned the ball over 15 times to NDNU's 13.
 
HPU opened the contest with a Janssen layup that was followed by a 3-pointer from NDNU's Louis to take a brief 3-2 lead. The Sharks followed a Namdar triple to start an 8-0 run and take a lead they wouldn't relinquish. NDNU chipped back the HPU advantage in the half, using Wade's layup with 3:43 to play to pull within two at 27-25. Following an HPU timeout, the Sharks got a jumper and a 3 from Gordon-Haynes then added a 3-pointer from Janssen just before the horn to cap an 8-2 run and take a 37-27 lead into intermission.
 
The Sharks would never trail by less than double-digits again.
 
HPU opened the second half with a Melifonwu layup to key a 9-2 run as Blain's triple gave the Sharks a 46-29 advantage. The Argos eventually narrowed the Sharks lead to 13 midway through the half before HPU went on another flurry of treys to give the Sharks a 20-plus lead for the rest of the contest on the way to an 87-51 triumph.
 
The Sharks will go for two straight on Saturday in the Bay Area as they visit Holy Names. Tipoff at Tobin Gym in Oakland is set for 4 p.m. HST (6 p.m. PST).