HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University cut a 17-point second half deficit to four in the final minute, but Simon Fraser hit its free throws down the stretch to take a 74-67 victory Saturday night in the Ala Moana Hotel Hoops In Hawai'i D2 Power Invitational at the Hawai'i Convention Center.
 
The Sharks (3-7) held a brief first half leads against The Clan (11-2), but an 11-0 run in the first half gave SFU from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference a lead that would not be overcome.
 
Senior Ronald Blain of McDonough, Ga./Union Grove, collected 22 points and six rebounds to lead the Sharks, recording three assists, two steals and a block. Freshman Lachlan Viney of Melbourne, Australia/Mazenod added 10 points. Junior Chidoze Ndu of Lagos, Nigeria also grabbed six rebounds.
 
The Clan was paced on a balanced attack that saw all five starters score in double-figures led by Michael Provenzano with 18 points, with Wilfried Balata scoring 16 points with seven rebounds. Julian Roche scored 11 points with two blocked shots, Othniel Spence posted 11 points with four steals and Jasdeep Singh turned in 10 points.
 
The Sharks shot a strong 48 percent from the floor (24-of-50), including 10-of-24 (42 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU made 9-of-11 (82 percent) from the foul line. The Clan connected on 51 percent from the field (28-of-55), with 5-of-15 (33 percent) coming from the arc. SFU nailed 13-of-16 (81 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
The Sharks trailed 60-43 with 10 minutes to play in the contest before HPU got a layup from Blain to start a 12-2 run over the next six minutes to get the lead down to five. Redshirt freshman Ryan Godges of Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos buried a 3-pointer with 4:27 left to cut the SFU lead to 62-57. The Clan got the lead back to nine with 2:53 left only to have Godges hit a triple and sophomore Jacob Foy of Newcastle, Australia/St. Francis Xavier make two free throws. That set up Blain, who made a layup with 35 seconds remaining to pull the Sharks within four at 68-64.
 
But the Sharks needed to foul to get the ball back, and Simon Fraser went 6-of-6 from the line down the stretch. Blain's final 3-pointer spelled the difference in the 74-67 score.
 
The Sharks are off for a holiday break before returning to the competitive hardwood on Thursday, Jan. 2, when they host Biola in a PacWest Conference contest. Tipoff at The Shark Tank is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., following the HPU women's contest against the Eagles.