HONOLULU, HI- The Swords are 2010-2011 Pac West Champs! Chaminade claimed their third PWC Championship in six years with an 84-82 win over BYU-Hawaii in front of a packed house in McCabe Gym.
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The Swords played lights out in the opening twenty minutes, shooting 70% from the floor and 80% from three in the first half. A three by
Steven Bennett at the end of the half put Chaminade up 47-36 at the break.
BYU-Hawaii quickly cut the lead to within a possession at 49-46 after two Marques Whippy free throws at 16:38 remaining. The game would remain close from there, with Chaminade holding on by the slimmest of margins. The Seasiders took the lead on a Whippy three-point play 72-71 to set up the fantastic finish in front of a crowd of over 1,000 in McCabe Gym.
The game was tied at 79 when
Steven Bennett hit a jumper to go up 81-79 with 59 seconds remaining. On the next Seasider possession, Jet Chang missed a driving layup and Marques Whippy missed a jumper after grabbing an offensive rebound as the Swords
Chris Curtis gained possession and was fouled. Curtis calmly hit two free throws to go up by four points with 41 seconds left.
BYU-Hawaii's Heath Gameren scored for the Seasiders and was fouled (made the free throw) to put BYU-H down 1 point with 12 seconds left after three BYU-H offensive rebounds.
Chris Curtis was fouled again and hit one of two to put the Swords up 84-82 with 12 seconds still remaining. On the final BYU-Hawaii possession, Whippy slipped and traveled and on the ensuing inbounds, Chaminade's ultra-quick point guard
Steven Bennett dribbled out the clock to secure the Silversword victory.
Junior center
Mamadou Diarra (Bamako, Mali/Stoneridge) finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, controlling the paint for the Swords.
Junior De'Andre Haskins led all Silverswords with 20 points and added 4 rebounds, 4 steals. Junior
Chris Curtis (Tustin, CA/Tustin) added 16 points and 5 rebounds for the Swords, while junior
Matt Cousins (Santa Rosa, CA/Cardinal Newman) added 4 points and 3 rebounds. CUH guard
Dominique Cooks (Wollongong, AUS/ Holy Spirit College) tallied 6 points in twenty-four minutes of action.
All Pac-West performer
Steven Bennett (Los Angeles, CA/Dorsey) finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists on the night and sophomore guard
Waly Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali/Patterson Prep) added 5 points and 4 rebounds.
The Swords won the rebounding battle 35-28.
BYU-Hawaii was led by Marques Whippy with 24 points.
Chaminade moves to 20-8 with the win, 13-3 in the Pac West and are Co-Champs with 13-3 Dixie State. It is the second time in 26 years that the Swords have won 20 games. BYU-Hawaii goes to 17-8, 12-4 in the Pac West with the loss. The Swords await their seed for the NCAA Division II West Regional, which will most likely be hosted by Central Washington in Ellensburg, WA.
