West’s big night helps power Hawaii Pacific past Saint Martin’s in home opener

HONOLULU – Two-way stars are important as ever.

Hawaii Pacific University showed off their teeth on Tuesday night, handing Saint Martin’s University its first loss of the 2025-26 season inside the Shark Tank, 88-75. HPU senior guard Joshua West dominated on both ends, pouring in a team-high 20 points and eight rebounds while handing out four assists and snagging three steals in the win.

The win wrapped up a ruthless opening stretch for the Sharks, completing a run of three games in four days against GNAC foes with a 2,700-mile flight mixed in between the second and third games.

“Incredibly proud,” said HPU head coach Jesse Nakanishi of his emotions after the win. “We will never make excuses but there is no doubt we had a tough schedule. We had three games in four days – with travel back from Alaska included – and there is no excuse making from our guys.”

West was one of four Sharks to finish in double figures as HPU posted a season-high 88 points. Guards Avi Halpert and Quentin Meza chipped in 15 points each while combining to knock down six of the team’s 10 total made 3-pointers.

HPU G Quentin Meza rises up for a jumper against Saint Martin’s. The junior had 15 points and drained three 3-pointers in the win for the Sharks. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Maj Dusanic provided a physical presence in the frontcourt for the hosts, tacking on 13 points, six rebounds and a block in 31 minutes. Fellow forward Quinton McCullough chipped in six points, four rebounds, two steals and a pair of blocks and added the highlight of the night for the Sharks when he posterized SMU forward Nari Jordan in the second half.

HPU scored three of the first four baskets of the night to race out to a 7-2 advantage, but Saint Martin’s quickly responded as a trio of Saints knocked down triples to put the visitors up by two after four minutes of action.

A personal 10-2 run by Saints guard Dae’Kwon Watson helped grow the SMU lead to seven with 11:46 remaining in the opening half, but back-to-back buckets from Dusanic along with an and-one from West helped the Sharks cut the deficit back to a single score two minutes later.

Hawaii Pacific outscored Saint Martin’s by 14 points over the final 7:55 of the period, pushing into another gear to take a 53-43 advantage into the locker rooms.

After a slow back-and-forth start to the second half, McCullough returned the energy to the Shark Tank with his powerful poster dunk, driving baseline and elevating to give a 70-52 advantage to HPU with 12:59 left to play.

West pushed the lead over 20 for the Sharks with a pair of threes before Dusanic put the cherry on top with a two-handed slam, clinching the 88-73 victory to the delight of a packed crowd as HPU moved to 3-0 in home openers under Jesse Nakanishi.

“We really wanted to fill the stands and give the students and the community something to be proud of,” Nakanishi said when asked about the environment in the Shark Tank. “We put on a good show … and wanted it to be an exciting brand of basketball for them to witness and I think we provided that, so hopefully they keep coming back.”

Hawaii Pacific F Maj Dusanic hammers home a two-handed dunk in a win over Saint Martin’s. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Saint Martin’s had three players finish in double figures, led by Dae’Kwon Watson’s game-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Diego Trejo-Delgado added 15 points and four rebounds for the Saints while Mark Clegg Jr. chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds in the loss.

HPU held SMU standout guard Kaden Hansen to seven points on 3-of-12 shooting and 1-of-7 from long distance. Hansen entered Tuesday averaging nearly 25 points per game for the Saints but was consistently hounded by West and the Sharks all night.

After playing three games in four days and starting the season on the road, Hawaii Pacific will play seven straight in the islands with lone away games down the hill for an exhibition against the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and an island hopper flight to face PacWest foe UH-Hilo on the Big Island.

The Sharks return to action on Friday, November 21, hosting Western Washington at 7 p.m. as they look to push the win streak to three.

“I just encourage everybody to please come out and experience one game at the Tank and I think you’d be pleased and see how hard the guys play,” Nakanishi added. “I really believe there’s good basketball at all levels … there’s not a huge separation between Division I and Division II and there’s a lot of excitement at this level as well.”