Box Score HILO, HI – The Swords claimed their second GNAC/PacWest Challenge Championship in as many years with an 80-60 win over St. Martin's tonight in Hilo.
The Swords go out to an early lead, going up 7-0 in the opening moments of play. From there, Chaminade never looked back. Senior
Matt Cousins (Santa Rosa, CA/ Cardinal Newman) was again a dominant presence inside, and he got going early. Cousins finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds, his second double-double in as many nights.
The Swords were relentless on the glass, winning the battle of the boards convincingly, 51-34. CUH also connected on seven of twenty attempts from three, good for 35%.
Chaminade junior
Bennie Murray (Fairfield, CA/ Will C. Wood) proved to be an offensive stalwart tonight, tallying 29 points and adding 9 rebounds in the win. CUH managed to spread the scoring out to others as well, as eight Swords notched points in the win. Ten Swords saw action in the twenty-point victory. Freshman
Darko Vukasovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Yuma) had another solid performance, scoring 9 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Senior
Rickey Clayborn (Chicago, IL/ E. Chicago) was again a rebounding machine, with 8 rebounds (5 offensive) in 19 minutes of action.
The Swords shot 45% from the floor on the night and held SMU to 40%.
Coach Bovaird saw some execution he liked. ”Bennie had a breakout night. I thought we played excellent defense as well, the guys played with a lot of energy. The 17 offensive rebounds were huge. ”
Chaminade's next opponent is UCLA. The Swords will face the Bruins at 4:30 PM HT on November 21
st at the Lahaina Civic Center in the opening round of the 2011 EA Sports Maui Invitational. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.
The Swords move to 2-0 with the win, while St. Martin's falls to 0-2.
GNAC/Pac West Challenge History
2010 Host: ST. MARTIN'S Champion:
CHAMINADE
2011 Host: UH-HILO Champion:
CHAMINADE
