Box Score HONOLULU, HI– Chaminade took to the road and defeated Hawaii Pacific this evening at Moanalua High School 72-69 in PacWest Conference action.
The Swords were down early, trailing 14-6 with 10:46 left in the first half. CUH responded with a huge 17-0 run and quickly went ahead 23-14 five minutes later. The contest went to the half with the Swords holding a 32-25 advantage. The Silverswords forced 12 first half turnovers, but were stingy on their end, committing only one turnover themselves. Chaminade shot 36% while HPU shot 40% from the floor. Sophomore
Mike Green (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman) led all scorers at the half with 12 points, shooting 4-5 from three in nine minutes of action. The Sea Warriors held a rebounding advantage, out-rebounding Chaminade 24-13 in the first twenty minutes.
The second half saw Hawaii Pacific refuse to give up, and found themselves up five points, 54-49 with 8:25 left in the contest, in large part to an advantage inside. HPU led the rebounding battle 36-20 with 8:25 left. HPU led 65-64 with just over two minutes left when CUH senior guard
Bennie Murray (Fairfield, CA/ Will C. Wood) knocked down a jumper to give the Swords a one point advantage. On the next Chaminade possession and with the game in the balance, Murray knocked down another jumper and put CUH up 68-65 with 1:15 left. Following a made HPU free throw, the Swords De'Andre Haskins (Long Beach, CA/Jordan) corralled an offensive rebound off a missed CUH three-pointer and after a Sea Warrior defensive foul, Haskins clinched the contest with two made free throws. Despite a last-second made three by Hawaii Pacific, two more made free throws by Chaminade sophomore guard
Lee Bailey (Detroit, MI/Detroit Country Day) gave the Swords a 72-69 win.
Chaminade shot 40% from the floor and HPU shot 54% in defeat. The Sea Warriors out-rebounded CUH 40-28, but the Silverswords made up for the rebounding disadvantage by protecting the basketball, committing just six turnovers to Hawaii Pacific's 19.
Bennie Murray led Chaminade with 24 points, sophomore forward
Mike Green (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman) finished his breakout contest with 17 points, while De'Andre Haskins finished with 10 points for Chaminade.
Coach Bovaird commented on the win: "Tonight was a battle. They were big and strong, but we used our speed and quickness to offset the height advantage. We play the toughest schedule in NCAA Division II basketball and it helps us in intense situations like tonight."
Hawaii Pacific was led by Jelany White with 16 points.
The Swords move to 7-7 on the year and 4-2 in the PacWest with the win. Hawaii Pacific falls to 5-7 and 2-3 in the PacWest on the year. Chaminade is back in action at Fresno Pacific in PacWest Conference action on January 19th. Tip is set for 4:30 PM PT at the Fresno Pacific Special Events Center.
