FULLERTON – Freshman Aman Haynes posted a career-high 26 points and Hope International shot 53 percent overall, handing La Sierra an 86-71 defeat in men's basketball conference action on Tuesday at Darling Pavilion.

Haynes, who posted his eighth 20-point game of the season, made 13 of 17 from the field in addition to tying for team high honors with seven rebounds. His previous career-best of 24 points took place on December 20 against Rocky Mountain.

The forward hooked up with senior teammate Darvelle Wyatt for buckets on five straight possessions during a key juncture in the second half. Wyatt fed Haynes with interior passes for layups, helping the Royals maintain a double-digit lead entering the game's home stretch.

Wyatt collected seven of his career-high tying eight assists in the second half. 

Senior Nick Hopkins also handed out a career-best eight assists. In all, the Royals tallied a season-best 25 assists on 33 buckets, wearing down the Golden Eagles on the inside.

Addy G'Bye provided the contributions from the perimeter, knocking down five three-pointers en route to a 17-point evening. It was his sixth game this season in which he made five or more triples.

CJ Fisher added 10 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Golden Eagles shot well, finishing at 48.4 (30 of 62) percent from the field. Five players scored in double figures, led by 7-foot-3 center Jasper Reinalda with 18 points on 9 of 12 shooting.

La Sierra erased a 39-33 halftime deficit, outscoring HIU 21-13 to take a 54-52 lead on a Stephen Perry three-pointer with 13:01 to go.

HIU retook the lead at 55-54 as G'Bye ended a three-minute Royals scoring drought with a triple at the 11:27 mark. That injected life into the Royals, which went on a 16-4 scoring run to open up a 68-58 lead with just over seven minutes remaining. 

The Golden Eagles got buckets from Maur Tablada and Perry, but that occurred during the middle of the Haynes-Wyatt connection, which allowed HIU to preserve its double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.

Wyatt's triple with 1:08 remaining iced the game, giving HIU an 80-68 lead.

G'Bye scored eight points during a two and a half minute span that enabled the Royals to build a 23-14 lead midway through the first half.

HIU led 33-20, but the Golden Eagles went on a 10-2 run to cut their deficit to five.

HIU improved to 17-4 and 7-2 in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference. La Sierra fell to 7-13 and 0-9 in conference play.

The Royals head out to Life Pacific on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. game.