HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University fell behind early then roared back to crush Northwest Indian College 116-55 on Saturday night at The Shark Tank.
 
The Sharks (3-1) trailed the Eagles (0-5) by five in the first half before going on a 23-0 run to reclaim the lead and never trailed by less than double-digits again.
 
All 15 HPU players who dressed for the game scored for the Sharks, placing five in double-figures. Junior Colton Martin of Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound and redshirt freshman Jackson Young of Kerrville, Texas/Tivy led the Sharks with 15 points each, with senior Rodney Hounshell of Richmond, Va./West Linn (Ore.) adding 14 points and freshman Max Topham of Paragonah, Utah/Real Salt Lake Academy adding 12 points. Junior Trey Miller of Mukilteo, Wash./Archbishop Murray came off the bench to double-doubled with 10 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
 
The Eagles were led by Kobe Johns with 20 points and Alec Mora with 10 points.
 
HPU shot 67 percent from the floor in the second half on the way to hitting 55 percent (46-of-84) of its field goal attempts, including 14-of-31 (45 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks converted just 10-of-24 free throws (42 percent). The Eagles shot 32 percent (19-of-59) from the field, with 9-of-26 (35 percent) from the arc. The Eagles went 8-of-9 (89 percent) from the charity stripe. The Sharks blew away the Eagles in rebounding 63-25, and turned the ball over just eight times to NWIC's 17.
 
The game didn't start well for the Sharks, as the Eagles hung with HPU early and went on a 5-0 run to claim a 10-5 lead with 15:41 in the first half. HPU came back to take a six-point 23-17 lead in the next five minutes, but the Eagles used a Nick Valencia 3-pointer to start a 9-0 run to retake the lead. After swapping scores, NWIC held a 28-25 lead with 8:15 remaining in the half.
 
That's when the Sharks kicked it into gear, starting with a second-chance layup from Topham, then a jumper in the lane from junior Trey Chapman of Healdsburg, Calif./Healdsburg to give HPU a 29-28 lead with 6:35 left in the half. Those buckets started a 23-0 run that put HPU on top 48-28 on a Hounshell 3-pointer with 3:24 remaining. The Eagles never got close again as HPU took a 50-33 advantage into halftime.
 
The Eagles closed the gap to 15 early in the second half, only to have the Sharks rip off a 25-2 run, that included another 18-0 run to run away with the contest.
 
The highlight of the second half was the play of Miller, who scored all 10 points and pulled down 11 of his 17 rebounds in playing 11-and-a-half minutes of the second half as HPU buried the Eagles 66-22 in the final 20 minutes.
 
The Sharks will a few days before their next challenge when they face Division II's No. 5 team Lubbock Christian on Thanksgiving afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. as the third contest of the day in conjunction with the Malika Sports Oahu Thanksgiving Classic at The Shark Tank.