AZUSA, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University fell at Azusa Pacific 98-53 in a PacWest Conference contest Thursday night at Felix Event Center.
 
The Sharks (3-14, 0-10) jumped out to an early lead before the Cougars (9-6, 6-2) went on a 14-0 run as part of a 21-2 streak on the way to moving back into the lead in the PacWest.
 
The Sharks were led by redshirt freshman Jackson Young of Kerrville, Texas/Tivy with 12 points, going 4-of-8 from the 3-point arc. Junior Trey Chapman of Healdsburg, Calif./Healdsburg tallied 10 points. Freshman Max Topham of Paragonah, Utah/Real Salt Lake Academy and junior Elijah Martinez of Denver, Colo./Regis Jesuit both grabbed four rebounds.
 
The Cougars were led by Justin Hemsley with 24 points and Terrence Becvar with 16 points. Sasha French double-doubled with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Ken West added 10 points with two blocks.
 
HPU shot 29 percent from the field (19-of-66), including 7-of-26 (27 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks made 8-of-12 shots (67 percent) from the free throw line. APU canned 57 percent from the floor (35-of-61), including 16-of-35 (46 percent) from the charity stripe. The Cougars dominated the glass 47-29, while the Sharks turned the ball over 11 times to APU's 13 giveaways.
 
After giving up an early basket, the Sharks came back with a jumper from junior Colton Martin of Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound and followed it with a 3-pointer from sophomore Jakob Kimura of Honolulu, Hawai'i/Punahou for a 5-3 advantage. HPU maintained the lead through the first official timeout, but a pair of free throws by Hemsley keyed the 14-0 run that gave the Cougars a lead it wouldn't give away. After a Chapman put back to end the first run, APU followed with another 7-0 run to go up by double-digits for good.
 
APU led 43-17 at the half on the way to the 98-53 triumph.
 
The Sharks close their southern California trip on Saturday when they take on Concordia Irvine. Tipoff at CU Arena is set for 5:30 p.m. HST (7:30 p.m. PST).