HPU takes Battle for Oahu in OT as Chaminade blows big 2nd half lead

HONOLULU – It ain’t over until Queen Lili’uokalani sings.

Down 17 points with under 15 minutes left in regulation, the Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team rallied inside McCabe Gymnasium on Saturday night to take down island-rival Chaminade (10-10, 8-6 PacWest) in overtime, 85-78.

HPU junior guard Quentin Meza paced all scorers with 19 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists, including the game-tying layup with seven seconds to play in regulation that sent the game to overtime. Joshua Niusulu added a season-high 17 points while pulling down six rebounds and collecting three steals in the comeback effort by the Sharks.

Hawaii Pacific got off to a strong start behind Meza and Niusulu, taking a 15-7 lead through eight minutes of action as the duo each took turns tormenting the Chaminade defense. Nate Sasser III provided a spark for the Silverswords off the bench, knocking down a pair of triples to help pull the hosts back within four as the clock ticked under 10 minutes left in the half.

Turnovers started to become an issue for the Sharks as the half wound down, committing five giveaways in four minutes to allow Chaminade to power ahead for the first time all day with 7:01 remaining until halftime.

“Credit them, they really brought it and challenged our toughness in the first half,” head coach Jesse Nakanishi said about the defensive pressure through the first half by Chaminade. “We turned it over regularly, and if you let Chaminade go in transition, they’re a really tough team.”

The high-pressure full court defense of the Silverswords continued to suffocate the Sharks as the first half dwindled down, extending the advantage for Chaminade to nine by the break after Sasser knocked down a pair of free throws to complete a 10-point first half by the reserve forward.

Chaminade kept the foot on the gas to begin the second half, scoring 11 of the first 14 points out of the locker room to take a 17-point lead with 15:27 left in regulation and force Jesse Nakanishi to look deep down the bench for answers after a couple of early timeouts.

Enter Nemanja Sarenac and Ike Sutton for a jolt of energy.

HPU freshman Ike Sutton drives to the rim against Chaminade. | Photo Credit: Daniel Fujita, HSRN

Sarenac got the party started by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers before Sutton drained a fallaway triple as the shot clock ticked down, injecting life into an otherwise lifeless HPU team teetering on being swept by their PacWest island rival.

Niusulu hit a soft turnaround jumper to pull the Sharks back within single digits with 11:20 remaining and followed it up with a quick layup that forced Chaminade head coach Eric Bovaird to call a timeout of his own as the Silverswords started to melt defensively.

The stoppage slowed the momentum of HPU for a moment, but Sarenac’s third 3-pointer of the second half made it a five-point game with 8:27 to play and re-sparked the scorching hot shooting of the Sharks.

HPU tried to put the finishing touches on the comeback a few minutes later as Meza tied it with a running layup and Niusulu gave the visitors a 65-62 lead after splitting a pair of free throws and muscling in another layup, but Chaminade refused to let go as Nathan Medina knotted it back up with a tough bucket and Kent King finished through traffic with 23 seconds left to play to put the Silverswords ahead by a pair.

Without a timeout to draw up a look, HPU turned to Quentin Meza and watched as the 6-foot guard sprinted down the lane and softly kissed the ball off the window to tie the game at 69 with seven seconds remaining. Medina was able to get a final look off before the buzzer sounded in regulation but fired off the mark as the clock struck zeroes.

HPU guard Quentin Meza drives to the rim during regulation against Chaminade. | Photo Credit: Daniel Fujita, HSRN

The battle continued into overtime as the teams traded more daggers from deep, seeing the Sharks take a 77-76 lead midway through the extra period with Sarenac’s fourth make from distance going along with a Joshua West triple that countered 3-pointers from Chaminade’s RJ Banks and Kent King.

Quinton McCullough and Meza provided a pair of tough finishes in the paint to give the Sharks some breathing room in the final minute before Joshua Niusulu drained four straight free throws to wrap up the comeback win for HPU, 85-78.

Joshua West finished with 14 points and five rebounds for the Sharks, playing just 29 of the 45 minutes as he dealt with foul woes throughout the majority of the night. Nemanja Sarenac added 12 points (4-for-7 3PT) and six rebounds off the bench before fouling out for the first time this season.

HPU celebrates after coming back from 17 down on the road to defeat Chaminade in overtime. | Photo Credit: Daniel Fujita, HSRN

Kent King paced the Silverswords in the loss, securing a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double to go with three steals and a pair of blocks before fouling out in overtime. Nathan Medina chipped in 14 points but was held to 5-of-21 shooting (3-of-15 3PT) by the stingy Sharks defense.

HPU (15-6, 11-5 PacWest) took a steady hold of second place in the conference standings, sitting 1.5 games behind Point Loma with six games left in the regular season. The Sharks will host Point Loma next Thursday, February 12 inside the Shark Tank for the first of two meetings down the stretch between the PacWest heavyweights.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. HT following the women’s basketball matchup. Both games can be heard on Hawaii Sports Radio Network (95.1 FM / AM 760 / hawaiisportsradio.com) or can be listed to on demand wherever you get most podcasts.