Box Score HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University closed a 10-point second half deficit to one with three minutes to play before Dominican pulled away for a 72-67 PacWest Conference win on Thursday at The Shark Tank.
 
The Sharks (3-10, 0-6) closed the game to one with a pair of free throws from junior Colton Martin, but the Penguins (5-9, 2-5) with an 8-0 run lead by nine with a minute to play. A pair of 3-pointers from senior Rodney Hounshell in the final minute made it a 3-point game before a jumper from Justin Brown with 18 seconds left ended the Sharks hopes.
 
Hounshell, a senior from Richmond, Va./West Linn (Ore.) led the Sharks with 16 points, with Martin of Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound adding 14 points. Sophomore Tucker Pellicci of Portland, Ore./Franklin led all rebounders with eight boards to go with his seven points.
 
Dominican was paced by Adam Parker with 20 points, and Chase Anderson with 14 points. Jake Blazona had five rebounds for the Penguins.
 
HPU hit 40 percent from the field (22-of-55), including 7-of-23 (30 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks made 16-of-20 free throws (80 percent). DUC shot 48 percent from the floor (25-of-52), including 11-of-23 (48 percent) from the arc. The Penguins made 11-of-13 shots (85 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
HPU and Dominican battled through the first half, with the lead swapping eight times and six ties in the opening 20 minutes. The Sharks led by five in the last two minutes of the half, only to have the Penguins knot the contest with 83 seconds left. Neither team scored before the horn as the contest went to halftime tied 30-30.
 
The Penguins took control early in the second half with a 9-0 run, then built their lead to 10 points on a Parker 3-pointer with 14:03 to go.
 
The Sharks used a 7-0 run and a 9-3 run to chip back and get to within one on Martin's free throws. Parker answered with a traditional layup and free throw, a Blazona layup and a 3-pointer from Anderson in the Penguins next three possessions pushed the lead to nine.
 
A pair of quick triples by Hounshell closed the game to three, but the Penguins added a bucket to close the scoring with the 72-67 triumph.
 
The Sharks are slated to play again on Saturday afternoon against Academy of Art. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at The Shark Tank.