Box Score HONOLULU – With the help of the long-range jumper, the Chaminade University men's basketball team completed a lengthy home stand with a 94-80 win over visiting Academy of Art in a Pacific West Conference game Wednesday at McCabe Gym.
Chaminade dialed up a season-high 15 3-pointers while hitting a whopping 53.6 percent from long distance. The victory also gave the Silverswords much-needed momentum heading into a crucial intra-O'ahu road trip starting Saturday.
Lee Bailey poured in 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor and also buried 5-of-8 from beyond 3-point range and dished out five assists. Freshman
Kiran Shastri added 19 for the Silverswords (7-6, 4-1 PacWest) and fellow freshman
Kuany Kuany, the reigning two-time Hawai'i Tourism Authority PacWest Freshman of the Week, added 10 points and 12 rebounds, posting his team-leading fifth double-double of the season.
James Harper contributed with a season-high 14 points for Chaminade. Bailey, Shastri and Harper combined for 13 3-pointers.
Alex Carmon had 26 points and five assists to lead the Urban Knights (3-11, 1-6). Alexis Moore added 15 points while Aaron Anderson and Rodrigo Maza had 13 apiece.
Chaminade led throughout the first half, building as many as a 9-point lead at 29-20 with 5:34 left in the half. The Urban Knights went on a 12-4 run, closing to within a single point at 33-32 and found themselves trailing only 36-34 at halftime.
Moore hit a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the second, giving Art U its first lead of the contest at 37-36, but the 'Swords would take back the lead twice on a Bailey layup and a Shastri 3-ball.
With Chaminade nursing a 47-46 advantage with 16:29 remaining, the Silverswords then made their run. Shastri hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Bailey hit one of his own and Kuany added a free throw to push the lead to eight. Carmon hit a jumper to get the Urban Knights back to within six, but Bailey scored five consecutive points, Shastri hit another three and Harper got into the act with a three of his own. It was part of a 22-7 run, giving the 'Swords a 69-53 advantage with 11:28 left. The lead swelled to as many as 20 heading down the stretch.
Chaminade shot a season-best 52.9 percent from the floor (27-of-51), including a stunning 62.5 percent in the second half on 15-of-24 shooting. The 'Swords also dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Urban Knights, 41-21, and held them to only five defensive rebounds in the second half. Both teams attempted 33 free throws with CUH converting 25 and Art U 23.
Next for the Silverswords is a pivotal two-game road trip against their O'ahu counterparts, which starts Saturday when they face Hawai'i Pacific at Moanalua High School Gym at 6:30 p.m. The Sea Warriors, whom the 'Swords defeated in the first meeting on Dec. 7 at McCabe Gym, handed No. 7 Dixie State its first loss of the season on Monday and are tied with the Red Storm for second place in the conference at 5-1.
Chaminade will also face BYU-Hawai'i in Laie on Tuesday, the teams' first meeting this season. The Silverswords and Seasiders are both 4-1 in the PacWest.
Live streaming audio of both the HPU and BYUH games will be available on goswords.com.
