HPU settles for Hoops in Hawai’i Holiday Classic split after loss to No. 6 Wooster

HONOLULU – Came up short. 

The Hawai’i Pacific University men’s basketball team struggled mightily on Saturday night, seeing the offense post a season-low in points during a heartbreaking 45-43 loss to the College of Wooster, an elite Division III program currently ranked as the sixth-best team in the country. An especially ugly first half for the Sharks that included 13 turnovers and a paltry 20.7% shooting clip saw the hosts fall down by as many as 18 points in the opening frame. 

Jamir Billings led all scorers with 13 points for the Fighting Scots (10-0), filling the box sheet during his 38 minutes of work as he added four rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists in the win for a still-unbeaten Wooster team. Jaiden Cox-Holloway played all 40 minutes for the Scots, posting a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with four steals and two blocks as he joined Billings as all-tournament team selections. 

HPU (6-5) was held without a double-digit scorer for the first time this season as Joshua West paced the Sharks with nine points and two steals in the loss. Jacob Kimura enjoyed his best game of the year with eight points and five rebounds off the bench as the team closed out the non-conference schedule a single game over .500.  

EJ Kapihe, a local product out of Kamehameha-Kāpalama returning home in an incredibly rare trip to Hawai’i for the Wooster (OH) program, started the scoring with a short-range finish on the Fighting Scots’ first possession. HPU failed to connect on its first 13 shot attempts, being held scoreless as 10 turnovers by the Sharks helped Wooster get out to an 18-0 lead after 10 minutes of play.

Wooster forward EJ Kapihe works in the post against HPU’s Maj Dusanic. Kapihe, a ’22 graduate from. Kamehameha-Kapalama, returned home for the first time in his college playing career for the holiday tournament. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Sherman Brashear finally snapped the scoring drought with 9:23 left before half as he drilled a three-pointer in rhythm after a nice find by Maj Dusanic. The bucket by the Dallas native sparked a small 9-3 run over the next two minutes for HPU, pulling the Sharks within a dozen with seven and a half minutes until the break. 

The sixth-ranked Fighting Scots settled back down, going to the defending NCAC player of the year Nick Everett down low in the waning minutes of the opening half to help maintain a 13-point advantage going into the locker rooms. Wooster shot 41.4% from the field over the first 20 minutes, hitting 12-of-29 attempts, double the amount makes from the floor as HPU over that same period. 

After seeing the deficit extend to 16 after the Scots scored five of the first seven points out of the half, Joshua West provided the shot in the arm that the Sharks needed as he flushed down a two-handed jam with 16:58 left to play. The dunk by the former Division III all-conference wing sparked a personal 9-0 run that brought HPU within single digits for the first time since the 14-minute mark of the first half. 

Issac Roeder stopped the bleeding for Wooster with a layup and Billings dropped in a jumper from the mid-range to restore an 11-point advantage for the Fighting Scotts, but Avi Halpert came back with his lone three-pointer of the night to spark another run for HPU. A pair of Charlie Weber dunks sandwiched Jacob Kimura’s three to push the Sharks in front for the first time all night with six minutes remaining, 40-39. 

HPU forward Charlie Weber runs back on defense after giving the Sharks a one-point lead. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Jamir Billings snatched the lead back for the Scots with a tough triple with about four minutes to play, but Jonas Visser finally made his first shot from the floor on a feed from Pavle Kuzmanovic to give the Sharks a 43-42 advantage with 2:30 to go. Billings again played hero for Wooster as he drilled a deep three over a defender to put the Scots ahead for good with 101 seconds left.  

HPU would get three different bites at trying to tie or take the lead before the final buzzer, including a steal with two seconds left that allowed for a near-midcourt heave by Sherman Brashear, but came up empty on all three as Wooster survived the Sharks’ vicious second half rally to remain unbeaten. 

Charlie Weber and Sherman Brashear each had seven points in the loss for the Sharks, combining to go 5-for-16 with seven giveaways. Jonas Visser, who entered the game among the most efficient scorers in the country in Division II, connected on a woeful 1-of-10 attempts from the floor as the big man from the Netherlands finished the night with three points and nine rebounds. 

HPU will return to action after the holidays, taking Christmas and New Years’ Day off before hosting new PacWest foe Vanguard on January 2 inside the Shark Tank. The conference added three new programs in total, seeing Menlo and Jessup join the fray as well to make it a 14-team league with six available spots in the postseason tournament.