HILO, Hawai'i – Hawai'i Pacific University battled without its leading scorer, but No. 25 Hawai'i Hilo proved too strong on its way to a 64-53 PacWest Conference victory on Thursday afternoon at Vulcan Gym.
 
The Sharks (2-8, 2-8) fell for the sixth time this season to the Vulcans (9-1, 9-1) who are ranked 25th in the D2SIDA poll and receiving votes in the NABC Division II poll.
 
The Sharks were led by sophomore Colton Martin of Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound who collected 14 points. Senior Tavon Tarpley of McLean, Va./Langley and freshman Tucker Pellicci of Portland, Ore./Franklin both scored eight points. Sophomore Elijah Martinez of Denver, Colo./Regis Jesuit led the Sharks with seven rebounds.
 
The Vulcans were led by Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones with 26 points and a double-double from Sasa Vuksanovic with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan Graves chipped in 10 points with five assists.
 
HPU shot 30 percent from the field (16-of-54), and 3-of-15 (20 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks made 18-of-26 (69 percent) of its free throws. UH Hilo hit 40 percent from the floor (22-of-55), including 5-of-20 (25 percent) from the arc. The Vulcans connected on 15-of-18 (83 percent) from the charity stripe. The teams were even on the boards with 38 rebounds each, and HPU had one more turnover than UHH 15-14.
 
The Vulcans jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but the Sharks fought back to get within one on a Tarpley layup with 6:31 to play in the first half that made the score 10-9. The Vulcans answered with a 16-2 run to grab the advantage they wouldn't give away. HPU closed the gap to 26-14 on 3-pointer by senior Jacob McEnroe of Honolulu/Farrington in the final seconds of the half.
 
The Vulcans built an 18-point lead during the second half, but the tenacious Sharks fought back. HPU chipped away at the UHH lead and used a 10-4 run to pull within 10 on Tarpley free throws with 1:56 to go. The game settled to an 11-point difference after free throws by Martin making the final 64-53.
 
The Sharks close the season next Monday and Wednesday when the host cross-town rival Chaminade in a pair of games at The Shark Tank. Tipoff for both contest is set for 7:30 p.m.