HONOLULU — St. Edward's men's basketball found some traction with its defense after halftime, but Hawai'i Pacific's first-half shooting barrage left too much ground to recover in an 88–64 season-opening loss Friday at McCabe Gym.
The Sharks connected on 15 of 24 3-pointers before halftime, building a 57–25 lead behind seven triples from Avi Halpert. St. Edward's forced 18 second-half turnovers and outscored Hawai'i Pacific 39–31 over the final 20 minutes, but couldn't overcome the early separation.
ROBERT CONRAD led the Hilltoppers with 16 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the field, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. DONOVAN SANTORO added 11 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers, and SEAN ELKINTON contributed eight points, six rebounds, and two steals.
Hawai'i Pacific established its range immediately, scoring its first 12 points on four 3-pointers. St. Edward's stayed within reach through its work inside, getting two baskets from Conrad and a hook shot from Elkinton before PARKER HANNAH converted a three-point play to bring the Hilltoppers within 12–9.
Then the offense stalled, and the Sharks kept finding the bottom of the net.
Hawai'i Pacific scored 15 consecutive points, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from Ike Sutton and another pair from Halpert and Nemanja Sarenac before a Marino Dubravcic dunk extended the lead to 27–9. St. Edward's went nearly six minutes without scoring before Elkinton ended the drought with two free throws.
CONOR MCMANUS followed with a putback, but Halpert answered with another flurry. The guard knocked down four 3-pointers in less than two minutes, stretching the Sharks' advantage to 39–16. Halpert scored 21 of his game-high 23 points before halftime, shooting 7-for-9 from beyond the arc in the opening period.
St. Edward's shot 30 percent in the first half, including 3-for-20 from deep, while Hawai'i Pacific made 19 of its 30 field-goal attempts.
The Sharks pushed their lead to 63–25 early in the second half before the Hilltoppers began turning defensive pressure into offense.
Conrad opened a 13–0 St. Edward's run with two free throws. McManus followed with a steal and transition layup, and CAMDEN COWGILL's steal set up a Conrad 3-pointer off Hannah's assist. Another takeaway, this time by Conrad, led to an Elkinton jumper. Conrad and JACKSON THOELE finished the stretch with two free throws apiece, trimming the deficit to 63–38 with 13:43 remaining.
The Hilltoppers held Hawai'i Pacific scoreless for more than four minutes during the run, but the Sharks maintained their cushion the rest of the way.
Santoro scored eight points after halftime, knocking down two 3-pointers and adding two free throws. NOLAN BARKLEY supplied six points and three rebounds off the bench, while Hannah and McManus finished with seven points and four rebounds each. Cowgill led St. Edward's with three assists.
St. Edward's finished with 10 steals and converted 24 Hawai'i Pacific turnovers into 25 points. Conrad, Elkinton, and McManus each recorded two steals.
The Sharks countered with a 42–24 rebounding advantage and finished 19-for-36 from 3-point range. Evan Kilminster added 15 points and six assists, while Dubravcic posted 10 points and 12 rebounds.
St. Edward's opens the season 0–1 at the Hoops in Hawai'i Tip-Off Classic and will play Saturday at 5:45.
