IRVINE, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University trailed briefly at the game's start, but quickly got an 8-0 run and never trailed again in beating Concordia Irvine 76-53 on Monday evening at CU Arena.
 
The Sharks (18-7, 16-3) moved into a second place tie with the win, while the Eagles (10-14, 9-10) remained in sixth in the conference race.
 
HPU led by eight after the first quarter, quickly got the lead to double-digits in the second and never saw their lead slip below that mark.
 
The Sharks were led by senior Breanna Mackenzie of Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill with 22 points to go with six rebounds, a block and a steal. Senior Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds with four assists, while freshman Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary collected 13 points and seven rebounds with a blocked shot. Sophomore Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion chipped in 11 points.
 
Michaela Vanderklugt paced Concordia Irvine, just missing a double-double with 15 ponts and nine rebounds. Jasmine Rachal scored 13 points as the only other Eagle in double figures.
 
HPU shot 47 percent (29-of-62) from the floor, including 5-of-15 (33 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks made 13-of-15 (87 percent) of their free throws. The Sharks held the Eagles to 28 percent shooting from the field (14-of-50), including 6-of-22 (27 percent) from the arc. CUI chalked up 19-of-23 (83 percent) from the charity stripe. The Sharks won the glass 41-31 and turned the ball over 12 times to the Eagles 18, outscoring CUI 22-8 in points off turnovers.
 
CUI scored the first four points of the game in the 100 seconds, Lambrigtsen scored a layup and four straight free throws to go with a layup from Marcucci for the 8-0 that gave the Sharks a lead they would never give up. The Eagles held tough throughout the opening quarter before a 6-1 run put HPU up 22-14 at the quarter break after a layup and free throw 3-point play by Mackenzie.
 
HPU opened the second with a 9-1 run and the Sharks never led by less than double-digits the rest of the way. HPU built a 30-plus lead in the fourth quarter and finished the game up 23 at 76-53.
 
The Sharks are now halfway through a four-game southern California road trip and go to San Diego to face Point Loma, currently in fourth place in the conference race. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. HST (5:30 PST) at Golden Gym.