Honolulu, HI- The Swords took home the first annual Hawaii Challenge tonight, winning the championship game against BYU-Hawaii 87-81.
The Swords and Seasiders battled in the opening half, and a Dejan Cvoro three sent the Silverswords to the break with a 42-40 lead.
Chaminade never relinquished the lead in the second half. The Swords won the rebounding battle 41-32. Steven Bennett again ran the show for Chaminade, dishing out 12 assists to go along with 20 points in the win. Shane Hanson had 14 points in 38 minutes in the win.
Chandler Pearson, an all tournament team selection, knocked down clutch free throws, finishing with 21 points and 8 rebounds.
Freshman Waly Coulibaly was impressive, scoring 14 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Matt Cousins scored 9 points and added 8 rebounds.
The Swords shot 51% from the floor and 42% from three on the evening.
Virgil Buensuceso had 22 points for BYU-Hawaii in defeat.
Chaminade improves to 3-4 on the year. BYU-Hawaii falls to 5-2. The Swords are back in action vs. Alaska-Fairbanks on December 19th. Game time is set for 7:30 PM AT on the campus of Alaska-Anchorage.
