HONOLULU – Although the University of Hawai'i Hilo has already clinched the Pacific West Conference Hawai'i Pod crown, there is still a lot to play for both Chaminade University and Hawaii Pacific University men's basketball teams entering the first day of March.
For HPU, it is a chance to move up in the conference standings and finish in second place of the pod.
For Chaminade, an opportunity to finish with a winning record.
For both, the local bragging rights for another year.
On Monday, the second-to-the-last meeting of the year between the two went to the HPU.
The Sharks, who trailed for nearly three-quarters of the game, used a 14-0 run midway through the second half, built a sizeable lead then hung on for a 74-71 win at The Shark Tank.
The Silverswords suffered their fifth straight loss, the longest against non-Division I foes since dropping seven in a row in February 2012,
Eric Bovaird's first year as head coach. And in falling to 3-6 in the PacWest, they can finish no better than .500 on the season.
Malik Parsons (San Diego/Wenatchee Valley CC/Lincoln HS) led the 'Swords with 15 points followed by
Kevin Kremer (Chico, Calif./Utah/Pleasant Valley HS) with 14 points.
Jessiya Villa (Martinsburg, W. Va./Hawai'i/Kahuku HS) added 12 points while
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) had 10 points and career-high eight rebounds.
HPU (3-8 PacWest) was paced by Tavon Tarpley, who established career-highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds.
The 'Swords stayed in front of the Sharks for nearly 15 minutes of the first half, leading by as many as eight before holding on to a 35-32 halftime edge.
Chaminade matched its largest lead of the game at 48-40 with 14:21 remaining but HPU proceeded to score 14 unanswered over the next four minutes. Tarpley had five and Chidozie Ndu added four during the surge. Parsons finally ended the run with a 10-footer in the lane.
The Sharks eventually got the lead up to 10 with under two minutes left to play before the 'Swords sliced into the deficit and, after a Villa layup, trailed 73-71 with 5 seconds left. After a foul on the ensuing inbounds pass, HPU made one of two foul shots for a three-point lead (74-71), opening the door for the 'Swords. But Villa's pull-up triple at the buzzer was no good, sending Chaminade to its third straight loss to the Sharks this season.
The 'Swords made 30 of their 65 shots for 46.2 percent while the Sharks hit for 53 percent clip. However, they were just 3-of-26 from 3-point territory including 0-for-11 in the second half. Chaminade is 0-6 this season when shooting less than 35.5 percent from triples range this season and is just 22.4 percent (32 of 143) during their skid.
The 'Swords were able to out-rebound HPU, 35-34, and forced 18 giveaways.
The Silverswords and Sharks will meet for the final time this season on Wednesday at The Shark Tank. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
