HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University dropped a 73-56 PacWest Conference decision to Fresno Pacific on Sunday evening at The Shark Tank.
 
The Sharks (4-18, 1-14) saw the Sunbirds (15-7, 9-6) use a 13-2 run midway through the first half to flip a Shark lead to a double-digit FPU advantage they would not relinquish.
 
The Sharks were led by senior Rodney Hounshell of Richmond, Va./West Linn (Ore.) who hit five 3-pointers on the way to 19 points. He was the only Shark in double figures. Big men junior Trey Chapman of Healdsburg, Calif./Healdsburg and sophomore Tucker Pellicci of Portland, Ore./Franklin scored eight points each, while junior Elijah Martinez of Denver, Colo./Regis Jesuit pulled down five rebounds.
 
The Sunbirds were paced by Darrin Person Jr. with 21 points and seven rebounds. Garrett Cook hit five 3's for 16 points, and Nate Kendricks posted 12 points. A.J. Kirby led all board men with nine rebounds.
 
HPU hit 39 percent from the floor (21-of-54), including 8-of-24 (33 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks made all six free throws they attempted. FPU connected on 52 percent (29-of-56) of its shots from the field, including 9-of-23 (39 percent) behind the arc. The Sunbirds made 6-of-11 (55 percent) from the charity stripe. FPU outrebounded HPU 37-26, and had 13 turnover to the Sharks 14 giveaways.
 
The first eight minutes were exciting with one tie and seven lead changes. The Sharks were down two when they got 3-pointers from Hounshell and senior Domantas Sakickas of Kedainiai, Lithuania for a 6-0 run, HPU's best of the game, to take a 14-10 lead at the 13:53 mark. The Sunbirds battled back, but HPU answered to regain the lead with 12:04 remaining in the half as sophomore Jakob Kimura of Honolulu/Punahou scored his only points on a driving layup for a 16-15 lead.
 
The Sunbirds came out of a timeout with a Cook triple that started the 13-2 run to put FPU up by 10 and the Sharks never recovered. FPU took a 34-25 lead into halftime.
 
The Sharks cut the lead to seven early in the second half, but FPU quickly pulled it back to double-digits. An 11-0 run late in the second half put the Sunbirds up 20 before the Sharks trimmed it back to the 73-56 final.
 
The Sharks, who have five regular season games remaining, start a four-game northern California road trip. HPU visits Dominican on Tuesday, with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m. HST (7:30 p.m. PST).