BELLINGHAM, Wash. - On Tuesday evening the Hawai'i Pacific University men's basketball team faced off against the Vikings of Western Washington University. The Sharks looked to notch their first win of the season after two tough battles in Alaska at the GNAC/PacWest Challenge.

Despite not being in the win column yet, Coach Nakanishi's squad was already showing how dangerous this squad can be once conference play begins. Sophomore standout Melo Sanchez entered the matchup fresh off being named to the All-Tournament team, averaging 16.5 points and was perfect from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, transfer, Matthew Van Komen's five blocks was the most by a Sharks through the first two games of the season since 2015.

However, a win in Carver Gym would be a tall task as the Vikings were fresh off a stellar weekend routing CSU Dominguez Hills and Cal Poly Humboldt at the West Region Crossover, improving their record to a solid 4-1.  

In the first half, HPU and WWU traded blows with both squads finding ways to keep the other in striking distance. Transfer Josh Niusulu and veteran Maj Dusanic would combine for 18 points in the first half, including big buckets down the stretch to give Hawai'i Pacific a 43-39 lead heading into halftime

The Sharks knew that they had to keep their foot on the gas pedal to spoil the Vikings' home opener and that they did. Transfers Dominique "Diggy" Winbush and Van Komen came into the second half putting on an offensive clinic building the lead up to 12 in the first four minutes. Sanchez would come alive after a slow start and drop 13 second-half points including two crowd-silencing back-to-back three-pointers. 

HPU would run away with the game outscoring Western Washington 40-28. Dusanic continued to be a headache for the Vikings picking up where he left off after 17 point performance last year as he scored 14 along with leading the Sharks with 5 assists and 8 rebounds. 

As the buzzer sounded for the Sharks' 83-67 victory, it also signified the beginning of a  new era for HPU basketball as this game will go down as the first of many victories for first-year head coach Jesse Nakanishi. As the HPU squad celebrated their coach's huge milestone, the revival of the "The Shark Way" was felt by the HPU Athletics community.

HPU will look to keep that momentum going as they journey into Canada to take on the Simon Fraser Red Leaves at 7:30 p.m. in British Columbia.