Jan. 13, 2006
Honolulu, HI- In a game reminiscent of postseason basketball, Chaminade defeated UH-Hilo 73-60 in a hard fought battle in McCabe Gym in front of a raucous crowd of Silversword fans.
Chaminade University was led by Chris Reaves, who, hobbled by a foot injury, managed to shoot 13-21 from the floor and 6-8 from the arc, for 34 points to go along with 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Fellow Sword guard Zack Whiting, battling a virus, played 34 solid minutes at the point, while Marko Kolaric added 10 rebounds off the bench, including 6 offensive.
The Swords were in for a battle all night and fell down by as many as eleven points in the second half after leading 25-21 at the break. This is when Chris Reaves took over. "He made shot after shot; he made plays that seniors make. They all did. When we needed a play our seniors stepped up and gave us one. Chris Powell got a rebound, Corey Campbell got us a bucket, Chris Nelson knocked down his free throws, and Dylan McCune made critical stops. Justin Griffin is an excellent player. Dylan held him to 5-18 from the floor" said Coach Mahar.
CUH out rebounded the Vulcans 51-41 and shot 70% from the arc in the second half while holding UH-Hilo to 33% shooting on the evening.
The Vulcans were led by Joe Travis and Justin Griffin, who each had 18 points on the evening. Travis also added 8 rebounds.
This conference battle now changes venue as Chaminade will go to Hilo to play the Vulcans twice next week, Thursday at 7:30 pm and Saturday at 8:00 pm. With the win the Swords improve to 11-4 on the year and lead the PacWest conference at 4-0 in league. The Vulcans fall to 10-4 and 0-1 in PacWest play.
