Laie, HI- Chaminade and BYU-Hawaii battled for a half, but a deeper Seasiders team took a close game at the break and broke it open with an 8-0 run midway through the second half for an 80-59 victory at the Cannon Activities Center.
The Seasiders welcomed back sophomore Jet Chang back to the lineup and the sophomore played well, leading the team in minutes played (30) and scoring (20) in his first game back from injury.
The Swords battled, but early foul trouble for sophomore Matt Cousins and a sick point guard in Steven Bennett spelled trouble. Cousins only managed to play 17 minutes on the night. Despite the setbacks, Chaminade hung tough, going down 31-29 at the break after leading for most of a back and forth first half.
CUH had three players in double figures, led by Waly Coulibaly with 12 points. Shane Hanson added 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Dominique Cooks added 10 points in 26 minutes of action.
Chandler Pearson added 8 points and 8 rebounds in 29 minutes.
The Swords won the rebounding battle 42-38, but 17 turnovers proved costly.
Chaminade falls to 7-11 on the year, 4-5 in the Pac West. BYU-Hawaii moves to 13-5, 7-2 in Pac West play. The Swords are back in action vs. Dixie State on February 16th. Game time is set for 7:30 PM HT at McCabe Gym. The game will also be Think Pink Night, with donations going towards breast cancer awareness.
