HONOLULU — Hawai'i Pacific made multiple pushes and briefly took a second-half lead, but the Sharks couldn't keep pace with a hot-shooting Hawai'i squad, falling 88–76 on Monday night at Bankoh Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.

HPU (3–1) erased a five-point halftime deficit with an 11–5 burst to open the second half, highlighted by Josh Niusulu's pair of threes and a Maj Dusanic dunk that brought the Sharks within 41–39. Niusulu then buried another triple at the 17:29 mark to give HPU its first lead of the night at 42–41.

Hawai'i (5–2) responded immediately and steadily rebuilt control behind its interior presence and a decisive advantage at the free-throw line. The Rainbow Warriors outscored HPU 50–43 after halftime and shot 32-for-39 at the stripe, including a perfect 8-for-8 second half from Isaac Johnson.

Quinton McCullough powered the Sharks with a team-high 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting, scoring 15 of those after halftime. Quentin Meza added 16 points, five assists, and five rebounds, while Joshua West filled the box score with 15 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and three blocks in 36 minutes. Niusulu finished with 12 points and two assists.

HPU shot 39 percent from the field but earned 32 of its points in the paint and converted 14 second-chance points on 12 offensive rebounds. The Sharks also forced 11 Hawai'i turnovers and scored 13 points from them.

Hawai'i was led by Johnson's 16 points and Bullock's 11 points and eight rebounds, while Harry Rouhliadeff added 14 off the bench. The Rainbow Warriors' 47 percent shooting and 46–28 rebounding edge proved decisive.

HPU returns to action next week, on Tuesday, as they take on Chaminade at the Shark Tank in their first PacWest conference bout of the year. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. HST and will be available to stream on the PacWest Conference Network.