Nov. 16, 2004
Honolulu, HI - The Chaminade University men's basketball team opened the 2004-05 season in style tonight, beating Winona State University 67-64 in front of 500 fans at McCabe Gymnasium.
Winona State came out hot and took a 40-32 lead into the break after shooting 58% from the field compared to the Swords 31%. The Swords were no better from the free throw line, hitting on just 5-12 from charity stripe. However, CU out-rebounded Winona 28 to 19, including 14 offensive rebounds which lead to 9 second chance points. Another bright spot for Chaminade was the hot hand of junior Chris Nelson who came off the bench to connect on three 3-pointers in the first half.
The Swords increased the intensity on both ends of the floor in the second half but the Warriors would not relent. They held on to the advantage until a Chris Nelson free throw gave the Swords their first lead of the second half at 55-54, with 4:25 remaining. Winona State battled back and regained the lead on a Zack Malvick free throw with 1:51 on the clock before Zack Whiting tied the game at 62 with a free throw of his own. The Swords got a much needed defensive stop before junior Chris Reaves stepped up for the Swords and hit five critical foul shots in the last 49 seconds to give Chaminade the 67-64 win.
Zack Whiting led the Swords with 18 points. Chris Nelson tallied 14 points and 6 rebounds and Chris Reaves finished with 10 points, including 6 of 7 from the free throw line. Forward Chris Powell gave the Swords a much needed spark off the bench. He scored 9 points, pulled down 9 rebounds and blocked 3 shots in just 18 minutes of play.
David Zellmann led the Warriors with 12 points. Zach Melvick added 11 points and 4 rebounds.
Chaminade is set to face Texas in the opening round of the 2004 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational on Monday November 22nd. The nationally televised game (ESPN2) begins at 9:30 AM HST.
