LAIE, HI- Another classic Silversword-Seasider battle. In a matchup between Pac West heavyweights, the Swords won a hard-fought affair tonight at the Cannon Activities Center, a 77-69 win over BYU-Hawaii.
The Swords and Seasiders battled for the first twenty minutes, with BYU-Hawaii leading by seven and CUH leading by six at different points in the first half. The half ended with the Swords clinging to a three point lead, 38-35.
The beginning of the second half was all Chaminade, as the Swords scored seven straight points to open up a ten point lead just moments into the second half and forced a BYU-Hawaii timeout. The lead went to as high as eleven points before the Seasiders stormed back. A layup by junior Jake Dastrup of BYU-Hawaii gave the Seasiders a four point lead with just over four minutes to go. Chaminade responded with a three-point play by
Steven Bennett (Los Angeles, CA/Dorsey) to cut the lead to one, followed by a three-pointer by senior
Shane Hanson (Canyon Lake, CA/Temescal Canyon) to give the Swords a two-point lead it would never relinquish.
Junior center
Mamadou Diarra (Bamako, Mali/Stoneridge) was stellar in the paint for the Swords, scoring 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Sophomore
Waly Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali/Patterson Prep) tallied double-figure points (11), connecting on three three's on the night. Senior
Shane Hanson (Canyon Lake, CA/Temescal Canyon) added eight points and five rebounds in the win.
Senior
Steven Bennett (Los Angeles, CA/Dorsey) led the offense and made critical plays late in the game, tallying 22 points, 8 assists 5 rebounds. Chaminade won a rebounding battle, 39-38.
Junior De'Andre Haskins (Long Beach, CA/Jordan), senior
Rashaad Ubah (Riverside, CA/ King) and sophomore
Dominique Cooks (Wollongong, AUS/ Holy Spirit College) slowed down Pac West scoring leader, Jet Chang, holding the junior guard to 9 points. CUH junior forward,
Matt Cousins (Santa Rosa, CA/Cardinal Newman), added 6 points and 5 rebounds in 15 minutes of action.
The Seasiders were led by senior Marques Whippy who had an impressive night, filling the stat sheet with 28 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.
Chaminade moves into a tie for first place at 14-7, 7-2 in the Pac West. BYU-Hawaii goes to 12-6, (7-2 in the Pac West) with the defeat. The Swords are back in action at NDNU in Belmont, CA on February 15th at 7:30 PM PT.
