Grand Canyon's Richard Davis was hot behind the 3-point line in the first half last night against Hawai'i Pacific, and in the second half he decided to get a closer look at the basket.

Davis, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, scored 12 first-half points on four 3-pointers and added 13 in the second without a 3-pointer in a 54-49 victory at the Neal Blaisdell Arena.

It was the Pacific West Conference opener for both teams.

"The first half I was staying around the 3-point line and my team was finding me," Davis said. "At halftime, my coach said try a head fake because they're going to overplay me. I was being more aggressive going to the basket and getting to the free-throw line more."

Davis, a former walk-on, also put the game away by making two free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining for the final margin.

"When it comes down to the end of the game I want the ball in my hands and to knock down free throws. I'm confident I'll make every one," he said.

Davis finished 7 of 17 from the field and 7 of 7 from the free-throw line.

Bryan Lee added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Jason Stromvall had 10 points for Grand Canyon (Phoenix).

HPU, which trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, tied the score at 40 on a field goal by Trent Tornincasa with 9:25 left.

Grand Canyon (5-4) answered with a 10-2 run to go up 50-42 with 3:47 remaining. Devon Greene started things with a field goal and Davis followed with a basket and three-point play. He assisted on Stromvall's 3-pointer, which capped the rally.

The Sea Warriors had a chance to tie, but Rishi Kakad's 3-point attempt with about 10 seconds remaining missed from the right wing. Davis grabbed the rebound and was fouled.

Grand Canyon played a 1-2-2 zone defense the entire game with 6-8 Lee at the point.

HPU (6-6) shot 16 of 51 from the field, including 7 of 26 from 3-point range.

"I thought we played really solid defensively tonight and I thought that was the key to the game," Grand Canyon coach Scott Mossman said.

HPU coach Darren Vorderbruegge said his team wasn't aggressive enough on offense.

"We got passive against the zone," he said. "When we ball-faked or drove-faked we had some success, but we got relaxed. That's what the zone will do to you. It'll get you to stand around on the perimeter and pass it around."

Brandon Lee scored 16 points and Kakad added 10 for HPU.

BYU-Hawai'i 71, Notre Dame de Namur 62: Lucas Alves scored 14 points and Eric Boyce added 12 for the Seasiders (9-4, 1-0 PacWest) at Cannon Activities Center. Chris Clock scored 18 points to lead the Argonauts (5-5, 0-1).

WOMEN

GRAND CANYON 102, HAWAI'I PACIFIC 52

Grand Canyon did whatever it wanted, whenever it wanted in a rout of Hawai'i Pacific.

Rosalyn Nelson had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight steals, and the Antelopes forced 31 turnovers in the PacWest opener for both teams.

Grand Canyon (7-4) forced most of the turnovers out of a full-court zone press and many baskets came in transition.

"We want to play an uptempo game," Grand Canyon coach Craig Wiginton said. "We want to create some offense off our turnovers."

HPU (0-12) used an amoeba zone defense for the first time this season, according to coach Liz O'Brien-Gorkowski.

"We're going to stick with it and we wanted them to learn today out there," she said.

HPU was without starting point guard Ashley Jenkins. O'Brien-Gorkowski said Jenkins was suspended for last night's game and will miss the next two because of "disciplinary reasons."

HPU's Jocelyne Norris scored all 17 of her points in the first half.

BYU-Hawai'i 86, Notre Dame de Namur 69: Kayla Burningham scored 23 points and Latoya Wily added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Seasiders (3-8, 1-0) at Cannon Activities Center. Grace Hartman scored 12 points for the Argonauts (0-12, 0-1).

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.