COSTA MESA – For 20 minutes, Vanguard men's basketball matched pace with one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league, Hawaii Pacific, as both groups shot a combined 14-30 from deep in the half. VU's first frame sample size (40% 6-15) was not sustainable however, as the Lions' attempts to keep up with HPU's clip saw them outshot 35% (5-14) to 17% (2-12) from downtown in the second half, the omen shaping their 74-62 loss Saturday night at the Freed Center.

The Lions' two-game win streak buckles as they drop to 11-8, 7-6 in the Pacific West Conference play. That puts the Lions in seventh place in the table, but Blue and Gold still have a game in hand over fifth- and sixth-place teams Concordia and Fresno Pacific, whom they will face next month. HPU (13-6, 9-5) are back in the win column as the Sharks sweep the regular season series with VU and hope to forge a gap at third place.

Erik Howlin had a season-high 27 points, sporting six rebounds and shooting 10-18 from the field, 3-7 from three and 4-6 from the charity stripe. Kalen Rains had his third double-digit scoring game, going 50% from the floor (5-10) and also added four rebounds. The last double-digit scorer was Dylan Swillis, who tallied 11 points in 17 minutes, also adding two rebounds and two steals.

Hawaii Pacific was led by the PacWest player of the week, Quentin Meza, who erupted for a career-high 30 points. He made six treys (6-10), dished five dimes, and went a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line.

The Sharks hit at least 10 threes for the 11th time this season, going 13-29 (45%), and also hit 11 of their 16 free throws.

Vanguard shot 41% (22-53) overall, 29% (8-27) from three and a conference worst 48% (10-21) from the free-throw line.

Much to HPU's advantage, neither team were too interested in the paint, only combining for 44 points (22-22) between them. The Lions led narrowly in points off turnovers (10-6) and fast break points (10-8). The Sharks used a 40-29 rebound lead to win second-chance points 23-11. As for
VU's bench, one of the highest scoring benches in the league was reduced to just 13 points, less than half their usual haul in bench points.

What Happened?
The Lions started fresh and were helped by Rains, who splashed back-to-back three-pointers for the early 6-4 VU advantage.  Howlin did not tack on his first points of the night until the 16:13 mark, but his impact came with five straight points on successive dimes from Bryson Metz (11-7 Vanguard).

Swillis was next to score this right, pinning a three from the right corner, thanks to Tony Colley. Colley orchestrated the next Lion bucket with a feed to Metz in transition, and Swillis made it 2-2 from deep, which was a three-ball from the right wing (19-13).

Meza hit his first shot of the media timeout, and helped lead the Sharks to their first lead of the game after a 7-0 run, which included a four-point play (20-19 HPU).

The Lions carved openings on the inside, which led to four free throws, an open Carson Frawley slam and a layup in traffic for Rains (27-24 VU).

The remainder of the half belonged to Hawaii Pacific as Meza scored or assisted on 10 of the 11 final HPU points, which included two three-pointers to go up by four, 36-32. Rains jumped to double-figures in his last point of the half, while Howlin hit at the buzzer to close the interval.

The bait was set for Vanguard in the second half, who tried to lean on their hot hand from the first half to work their way back in the game. HPU, however, were the ones who benefited, adding from their 8-15 (53%) performance from deep with six more threes in the final 20 minutes.

Howlin had the first eight points of the half for VU to make it 40-39 Lions with 15:28 to go. Meza and the Sharks unloaded their arsenal to flip the scoreline, as the junior was at the helm, scoring nine straight points for an eight-point HPU cushion (48-40). The Lions tried to respond with a three-pointer from Metz, but were slapped back by two more Shark three-balls and a fluid HPU run to stare down the drain 59-48.

Meza squeezed out another five-point solo run (64-50) then set up Avi Halpert from the left wing for their 13th three-pointer with 5:07 to play.

Trailing by 15 (67-52) VU stayed pulled in by the three-point shot. Swillis and Howlin were the primary aggressors in terms of getting to the rack (67-56 HPU), but Vanguard's hard work was difficult to capitalise on, as the Blue and Gold were just 6-15 when getting to the free throw line.

It would be Howlin and Swillis to combine for 14 of the final 19 Lion points in the game as the Sharks' sharpshooting proved supreme at the final buzzer.

What's Next? The Lions end their five-game homestand with Hawaii Hilo on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.