Box Score FRESNO, CA– Chaminade took on the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific this evening and dropped a 105-91 decision to FPU in PacWest Conference action in the Fresno Pacific Special Events Center.
The Silverswords saw the Sunbirds take an early lead as Chaminade trailed FPU 15-5 at the first media timeout. A jumper by CUH senior De'Andre Haskins (Long Beach, CA/Jordan) cut the Sunbird lead to five points at 22-17 with 10:24 left in the half. Fresno Pacific's offense got going and finished a high-scoring first half with a fifteen point lead at 56-41.
As the contest continued in the second half, so did the high-paced scoring, as FPU led 85-69 with 7:20 left in the game. Freshman
Kevin Hu (Taipei, Taiwan/Songsan) did his best to keep Chaminade within striking distance as Hu finished with 22 points. The Sunbirds continued to score however, leading 95-75 following a Malcolm Griffin layup with just over four minutes left in the first-ever conference matchup between the schools in men's basketball.
The Swords got the contest to thirteen points (101-88) after a made three by De' Andre Haskins with 1:30 left. The Sunbirds answered, closing the game out and won by a score of 105-91.
CUH senior guard
Bennie Murray (Fairfield, CA/ Will C. Wood) continued his solid play in 2013, adding 21 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. De'Andre Haskins added 15 points on 5-11 shooting. Chaminade sophomore guard
Lee Bailey (Detroit, MI/Detroit Country Day) contributed 11 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in 36 minutes of action.
Chaminade shot 44% from the floor and FPU shot 55%. Chaminade out-rebounded the Sunbirds 42-39 in the loss.
Fresno Pacific was led by Malcolm Griffin with 25 points.
Coach Bovaird commented on the defeat: “A slow start hurt us tonight. We have to get better defensively. We had a tough time containing them and then getting the defensive board.”
The Swords move to 7-8 on the year and 4-3 in the PacWest with the loss. Fresno Pacific goes to 10-6 and 5-3 in the PacWest on the year. Chaminade is back in action at Dominican (CA) in PacWest Conference action on Monday, January 21st. Tip is set for 7:30 PM PT at the Conlan Center in San Rafael, CA.
