Hawaii Pacific’s magic carpet ride ends in NCAA Tournament opening round

All good things must come to an end.

After a season that started with a historic upset at Boise State and provided multiple other memorable moments on the way to the third NCAA Tournament berth in program history, the No. 7-seeded Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team saw the 2025-26 campaign close out on Friday afternoon as they fell to the Saint Martin’s University Saints in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, 75-68.

Joshua West led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds in his final game for the Sharks, completing a senior campaign that saw him become the first HPU men’s basketball player to earn All-PacWest 1st-team honors since Niksha Federico in 2018 and finish as one of three PacWest players to receive CCA All-West Region honors in 2026.

Joshua West puts up a jump shot over a defender in the opening round of the NCAA Division II tournament against Saint Martin’s. | Photo Credit: KLC Fotos

Hawaii Pacific (18-12) fought through a slow offensive start, using eight early points from Josh Niusulu to remain within a bucket of the Saints through the first nine minutes of action. Niusulu finished the day as one of three Sharks in double figures with 11 points and three rebounds, playing his final collegiate game just 30 minutes from his hometown.

Six straight points from Quinton McCullough helped push HPU ahead momentarily and a triple from Quentin Meza sparked a 18-6 run that sent the Sharks into the halftime break leading by double figures, 36-25. Hawaii Pacific’s defense held Saint Martin’s to under 30% shooting from the floor as a group and limited GNAC Player of the Year Kaden Hansen to six points and a 0-for-5 showing from long distance over the opening 20 minutes.

The HPU lead grew as large as 14 in the second half as McCullough, West and Niusulu took turns finishing inside the lane after action resumed. Dae’Kwon Watson and Diego Trejo-Delgado helped stabilize the SMU offense, but a silky step back jumper from West and a pair of layups from Maj Dusanic kept the Sharks up double digits with 12:09 to play.

Hawaii Pacific’s offense went missing for the final 12 minutes, hitting on 5 of their final 21 attempts from the floor while turning the ball over five times and making 4-of-6 from the free throw line as the Saints stormed back.

Long distance makes by Patrick Kilfoil and Watson powered the rally for Saint Martin’s, sparking a 13-0 run that put the No. 2 seed in the West region ahead with five minutes to play, 63-57.  The Saints would not trail again.

Meza gave the Sharks one last gasp, tying the game at 66 with 2:08 remaining, but back-to-back triples from Kilfoil and Watson provided the daggers into HPU’s season as the Saints took the opening round game of the NCAA Tournament, 75-68.

Quentin Meza was the third player to finish in double figures for HPU, racking up 15 points for the Sharks and drilling two of the six total made 3-pointers by the No. 7 seed out of the PacWest. Quinton McCullough tallied nine points, six rebounds and three assists while dealing with foul troubles throughout the second half.

CCA All-West Region 2nd-team selection Diego Trejo-Delgado paced No. 2 SMU with 19 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks while Dae’Kwon Watson added 18 points on five made 3-pointers off the bench for the Saints in the win.

No. 2 seed Saint Martin’s (26-5) advances to the second round of the NCAA West Regional, taking on No. 3 seed and PacWest champion Point Loma at 5 p.m. PT on Saturday at Hayward Gymnasium on the campus of top-seeded Cal State East Bay.