Feb. 24, 2008
Laie, HI- What a finish. The Swords clinched their second Pac West title in three years tonight with a thrilling buzzer-beater to finish off the Seasiders in the Cannon Center.
The win clinches the Pac West with two games left and gives the Swords the most regular season wins in the history of the school in NCAA competition.
The game was back and forth throughout, as the Swords took the slimmest of leads into the locker room, 36-35 after a Patrick Collier three to finish the half.
The Seasiders came out ready to go to start the second half and led by as eight with under ten minutes to go. The Swords were unfazed, showing poise and slowly chipping away down the stretch. CUH cut lead to one, but a Corey Nielson three put BYU-Hawaii up four with two minutes to go.
Chaminade responded defensively and Rodrick Johnson and Stewart Kussler both scored to knot the game at 65-65 with less than a minute to go.
The Swords got one more stop and got the ball back with 14.4 seconds on the clock. Chaminade called timeout to setup the final play.
Hayden Heiber's driving lay-up came off long, but senior All-American candidate Marko Kolaric was there to clean-up, putting in the put-back as time expired for the Sword victory. Kolaric finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds.
Chaminade swept BYU-Hawaii in three closely contested contests to help secure the Pac West title. Stewart Kussler had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, Rodrick Johnson added 16 points and 7 rebounds. Hayden Heiber had 9 assists in the victory.
CUH shot 45% for the game and 25% from three. The Seasiders shot 52% from the floor and 60% from three.
Lucas Alves led the way for BYU-H with 20 points and 9 rebounds.
The Swords won the battle of the glass big, 42-21.
Chaminade moves to 19-6, 14-2 with the win, BYU-H moves to 16-7, 11-5 with the loss.
The Swords are back in action on Feb 28th against Dixie State. Game time is set for 7:30 PM MT in St George, UT.
