Hawaii Pacific forward Spencer Vering scored a basket with eight seconds left and the Sharks held onto the 73-71 lead to defeat Montana State Billings on Tuesday in the Hoops in Hawaii Holiday Classic at the Hawaii Convention Center. HPU, the defending PacWest men’s basketball champion, improved to 7-4 after its final nonconference game.

The Sharks finished with four players in double-digit scoring, led by Niksha Federico’s 25 points. Jonathan Janssen contributed 15 points followed by Albert Christensson’s 12 points and Vering’s 10 points off the bench. Federico also earned his eighth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds.

Kendall Denham led the Yellowjackets (8-6) with 25 points, while Zack Rollins added 23.

Vulcans slip past Douglas College

Hawaii Hilo freshman Allie Navarette came up big with a double-double and blocked the potential game-tying buzzer beater as the Vulcans fended off Douglas College 69-66 on Tuesday at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

Navarette finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Alyssa Movchan posted a career-high 14 points for the Vulcans (3-3, 1-2 PacWest). Rachel Beauchamp posted a game-high 21 points for the Royals (4-2).

>> Hawaii Pacific freshman Alysha Marcucci tied the school record with six three-pointers to lead the Sharks to a 79-52 win over Montana State Billings on Tuesday in the final game of the Malika Sports Oahu Christmas Classic at Kilauea District Park. Marcucci recorded a game-high 20 points, while Gabriella Fotu added 14 points and five assists.

Alisha Breen led Montana State Billings (9-3) with 19 points and six rebounds.

The Sharks (8-2) outrebounded the Yellowjackets 49-28, but committed six more turnovers (17-11) in the victory.