HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University battled Division I Loyola Marymount at The Shark Tank on Tuesday evening before falling to the LMU 66-53 in an exhibition contest for HPU.
 
The contest did not count for the Sharks (4-3, 1-1 PacWest), but the West Coast Conference's Lions (3-5) snapped a two-game losing skid with the victory.
 
HPU opened with an early lead before LMU responded with an 11-2 run to close the first quarter and take the lead it wouldn't relinquish.
 
Freshman Makaela Zeldenryk of Warragul, Australia/St. Paul's led the Sharks with 15 points, while graduate transfer Julia Razo of Woodland, Calif./St. Francis scored 11 points and junior Tavia Rowell of Langley, B.C. Canada/Walnut Grove came off the bench with 10 points.
 
Khari Clark came off the bench to lead the Lions with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Ariel Johnson collected 12 points and nine rebounds, Alexis Mark 11 points and seven boards, with Kimora Sykes adding 10 points and six boards.
 
HPU shot 33 percent from the floor (19-of-58), hitting 9-of-30 (30 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks made just 5-of-12 free throws (42 percent). LMU connected on 40 percent of its shots from the field (21-of-52), but only 4-of-17 (24 percent) from the arc. The Lions hit 20-of-28 shots from the charity stripe (71 percent). LMU dominated the boards 45-29, while HPU turned the ball over 15 times to LMU's 18.
 
The Sharks jumped on top of the Lions early. Zeldenryk buried two threes and junior Avery Cargill of Santa Rosa, Calif./Cardinal Newman added another triple with senior Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary collecting a driving layup to take an 11-6 lead with 7:15 remaining in the first quarter.
 
But the Lions responded by subbing in Clark who promptly hit a layup in the paint to kick-start a 6-0 run that tied the game at 11-all. Zeldenryk followed with a pair of free throws that allowed the Sharks retake the lead 13-11 with 3:30 to play in the quarter. Then Clark came back with a pair of free throws to tie the game at 13, and Sykes used a steal and layup to give LMU the lead at 15-13. The Lions added another score to take a 17-13 lead after the period for an 11-2 run.
 
Cargill started the second period with a 3-pointer to pull within 1, only to have Johnson hit a jumper to start a 10-0 run and HPU never caught back up. Razo hit a three and Baum a free throw to close the gap to 11 at halftime 34-23.
 
The Lions opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run to grab a 42-23 lead before the Sharks fought back with an 8-0 run of their own to bring the lead back to 11 midway through third. Rowell added a traditional layup-free throw 3-point play to pull within eight in the final minute of the third, only to have Clark hit two free throws to give LMU a 10-point 47-37 lead after three.
 
The Sharks closed the gap to five on thanks a Rowell 3 and layup to go with a layup from Cargill, only to have the Lions hold them off.
 
HPU closed to five again on a Razo 3-pointer with 3:33 remaining to make it 57-52, but the Lions did not allow another point and closed the contest on a 9-0 to win 66-52.
 
The Sharks go back to PacWest Conference play on Sunday when they visit Hawai'i Hilo. Tipoff for the first of a women's/men's doubleheader with the Vulcans is set for 1 p.m. at Afook-Chinen Coliseum in Hilo.