Honolulu, HI- The Penguins came out ready to go and the Swords were in for a battle with the conference newcomer all night as Dominican took an 84-76 overtime decision over Chaminade.
The game was a physical one, symbolized by a half court screen on the Swords Steven Bennett that put the Chaminade junior on the floor late in the first half.
Dominican went to the half with the slimmest of leads 34-33 at the break. As the opening twenty minutes concluded, six Swords had played and all six had scored. Steven Bennett led the way for Chaminade with 12 first half points. The Penguins star freshman Austin Bryan had 14 points to lead all Dominican player in the opening twenty minutes.
The game was back and forth throughout the second half as the Swords led 72-70 with just under 16 seconds remaining. As Austin Bryan drove right and fell, a foul was called and Bryan calmly knocked down two free throws to knot the game at 72.
The Swords took the ball into the half court and Steven Bennett was fouled and went to the line shooting two shots with less than four seconds remaining. He missed both and the game went into overtime.
Dominican won the overtime period with timely layups and put-backs to earn the 84-76 overtime victory.
The Swords were led by Steven Bennett who finished with 27 points and 8 assists. Matt Cousins added 23 points and 7 rebounds. No other Sword was in double figures. Both Steven Bennett and Waly Coulibaly played the full 45 minutes.
Dominican's Austin Bryan finished with a game high 34 points in the win. Alex Ward finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Penguins.
Chaminade was outrebounded 40-32.
Chaminade falls to 7-10 on the year, 4-4 in the Pac West. Dominican moves to 7-12, 4-4 in Pac West play. The Swords are back in action vs. BYU-Hawaii on February 12th. Game time is set for 7:30 PM HT in Laie, HI at the Cannon Activities Center.
