HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University cut an eight-point deficit to one in the final three minutes but it wasn't enough as Fresno Pacific held on for a 69-68 PacWest Conference victory Saturday afternoon at The Shark Tank.
 
The Sharks (4-8, 2-4) did not allow a point in the final 2:52 to the Sunbirds (4-9, 2-5) but couldn't get the game tying three to fall and could only get a layup in the final second of the game.
 
Senior Ronald Blain of McDonough, Ga./Union Grove, led the way for the Sharks, scoring 18 points with two steals and three assists. Junior Tavon Tarpley of McLean, Va./Langley, came off the bench with 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while sophomore Jacob Foy of Newcastle, Australia/St. Francis Xavier, scored 12 points with seven rebounds. Junior David Rowlands of Dayton, Ohio/Moorpark, had 10 points with five assists.
 
The Sunbirds collected 21 points and three steals from Aamondae Coleman, while Adrian Antunez added 19 points. FPU got seven rebounds from A.J. Kirby, while Nate Kendricks chalked up six boards.
 
HPU shot 38 percent from the field (20-of-53), including 4-of-14 (29 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks hit 24-of-28 (86 percent) from the free-throw line. Fresno Pacific shot 50 percent from the floor (27-of-54), with 7-of-17 (41 percent) from the arc. The Sunbirds went 8-of-13 (62 percent) from the charity stripe. The teams were even on the boards at 33-all, while HPU suffered 16 turnovers to Fresno Pacific's 21.
 
The Sharks overcame an early deficit to grab a four-point lead at 10-6 on a jumper from senior Daniel Melifonwu of San Diego/Lincoln. HPU held the lead in the first half until Coleman went on a six-point run of his own with a 3-pointer and a traditional layup-free throw 3-point-play with 11:25 to go in the half. The Sunbirds fought off HPU to grab six-point leads three times in the first half – the last coming on a layup by Jonathan Brown that sent FPU into the locker room with a 35-29 lead at intermission.
 
The Sunbirds opened up the lead to start the second half as a Coleman layup put FPU up by their largest lead of the day, nine points, at the 17:56 mark. HPU trimmed down the advantage midway through the half, and used a 7-2 run to get within two before adding a 6-0 run capped by a pair of free throws from freshman Trey Chapman of Healdsburg, Calif./Healdsburg to grab a 56-53 lead with 7:15 remaining.
 
The teams exchanged the lead until FPU went on an 8-0 run with four minutes left, then stretched the advantage to eight at 69-61 with a layup by Antunez with 2:52 remaining.
 
The Sharks responded by getting a 3-pointer from Rowlands, Blain getting a blocked shot that led to a Champan layup that cut the deficit to three at 69-66 with 1:35 left. Both teams missed contested layups in the final minute, but as time was winding down HPU had a 3-point attempt to tie that was errant. Foy got the rebound and put it back, but only 0.7 remained. A quick foul still dropped the clock to 0.2 left. Antunez intentionally missed his free throw to allow the clock to expire as Fresno held on for the 69-68 win.
 
The Sharks continue an NBA-style schedule, playing their third game in five days on Monday as they face Point Loma on Monday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., following the HPU-PLNU women's game at The Shark Tank.
 
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