SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The first Pacific West Conference Tournament game for VU men's basketball was a defensive affair, as neither Vanguard nor Hawaii Pacific hit their average point total.  The Lions tried upset Hawaii Pacific on Thursday and battled tenaciously,  but the slim margins went to the Sharks, who withstood some late VU pressure to win 64-59.  The Lions end the season at 16-13.
 
Erik Howlin orchestrated a fantastic finale to his career, as he led the charge to top all players with 26 points and lead the VU table with eight rebounds.  He was 7-for-15 from the field and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line, with a lot of those attempts coming in the second half.
 
Both sides combined to make three triples in the second half, and Hawaii Pacific held a slim 7-5 lead in total conversions from deep on the night.  VU shot at a 35.8% clip, while HPU had a 40.4% rate after 40 minutes.  While Vanguard had more free throw attempts (16-for-21), Hawaii Pacific did not miss any of its 15 attempts to preserve its lead.
 
What Happened?  After the Sharks opened the contest with two free throws, Sammy Howlin took a pass from Tony Colley and laid it in off the glass to knot the game at 2-2.  Colley then made a block and a rebound on the ensuing HPU possession and triggered a break for Howlin, who slammed it home to make it 4-2.  The Sharks scored the next five points, but Erik Howlin landed the first trey of the night for VU to level proceedings at 7-7 at the 15:36 mark.  Vanguard led for a majority of the next 10 minutes, but never by more than three points, as the Sharks had an answer for most VU makes.
 
Erik Howlin snared a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast to put VU up 26-25 with 3:16 left, and a Bryson Metz floater about a minute later again put the Lions up by three (28-25).  However, the Sharks made back-to-back triples to vault to a 31-28 edge with 46 ticks left in the half.  Yet, Sammy Howlin made a free throw to make it a 31-29 gap entering halftime, as no one scored over the final 22 seconds.  VU went 12-for-31 from the floor in the first half (38%), including a 4-of-15 mark from downtown (26%).  HPU went 9-for-24 from the floor and 5-for-14 from deep to shoot roughly 35% for both categories. 
 
Metz got an end-around pass from Howlin and buried a three to get the scoring started in the second frame, and the lead flipped between the two sides over the next two minutes.  However, a short 4-0 burst put HPU in front 37-24, and the Sharks slowly grew that to a six-point advantage at 44-38 with 13:54 to go. 
 
The Lions started to go cold from the field, as the Sharks hit a 10-point lead around the midway point of the period, with a layup putting Hawaii Pacific up 53-41.  Chasing 12 with 8:54 to go, Erik Howlin started getting to the hoop and fouled, as he single-handily made the next six points of the game from the charity stripe to cut the deficit to 55-50.  He then added a jumper with 5:22 to bring the Blue and Gold to within a possession at 55-52, but the Sharks then hit a big triple to negate some of that work.  Free throws by Sammy Howlin and Aibgho Ujadughele narrowed the score to 60-55, with Ujadughele's coming with 4:04 remaining.  Highlighting the defensive fortitude of each team, neither side scored for the next three minutes and change, until Erik Howlin returned to the line and made a pair with 54 seconds remaining. 
 
Down 60-57, Vanguard tried the foul game, but HPU remained perfect, as the higher seed held on for a 64-59 win.
 
Hawaii Pacific had a 35-29 lead in rebounds for the night and a 12-8 edge in fast-break points.  VU had fewer turnovers (13-10) than the Sharks.  Metz and Sammy Howlin had nine points each, and Erik Howlin, Ujadughele, Metz, and Colley each had two helpers. 
 
 
What was said?  "I'm proud of the way our guys continued to fight for each other tonight to keep the season going," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday.  "HPU made a few more plays than we did, and we have to credit them.  We had our chances with some big stops, and we just struggled to finish possessions, with a make at some key times.  But, that's basketball, and our guys emptied the tank and left it all out there."