Postgame QuotesLAHAINA, Maui, Hawai'i –
Kuany Kuany and
Kevin Hu scored 12 points each as the Chaminade University men's basketball team dropped an 81-68 decision to Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Frankie Eteuati and
Lee Bailey chipped in with 11 points each for the Silverswords (2-1) while
Michael Louder dropped in 10 to round out the Silverswords double-digit scoring contingent.
Michael Young led the Panthers with 27 points with 15 rebounds while Derrick Randall set the tournament record with 21 rebounds. Pitt (3-1) dominated on the glass, outrebounding Chaminade, 51-17.
"It was fun," Eteuati said of facing Young and Randall, two physical post players from the ACC. "You don't get a chance to play against strong guys like that and bang as much as you want."
Despite the rebounding margin, the 'Swords managed to hold the Panthers to 46 percent shooting in the game while hitting 51 percent themselves. They also hit a season-high 11 3-pointers.
Bailey also dished out a season-high nine assists, as the 'Swords had 16 assists to 13 turnovers while forcing 15 Pitt giveaways.
Kuany was Chaminade's rebounding leader with five while also contributing with four assists. Louder was efficient on the floor, hitting 4-of-5 shots, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Hu also was 2-of-3 from downtown.
The 'Sword defense proved stout early, holding the Panthers to under 35 percent shooting for most of the first half before an 8-0 run turned a 17-15 Chaminade lead to 23-17 deficit with 7:37 left. Pitt grabbed a double-digit lead late in the half and held a 42-31 advantage at the break.
Pitt continued to hammer the boards in the opening stages of the second half as they began to pull away. But Kuany and Hu hit back-to-back triples, getting Chaminade back to 54-43 with 14 minutes left, prompting a Panthers timeout.
Chaminade then made a move, making five straight field goals, culminated by a
Kiran Shastri trey to bring them to within 11 at 60-49 with 11:33 left. The Swords continued to hang around, hovering between deficits between 10-13 points for the next four minutes but a Pitt 3-pointer upped its lead to 72-56 with 7 minutes left to help seal the game.
"Coming into this tournament, we've got a lot of things we want to accomplish and work on and get better at," Chaminade head coach
Eric Bovaird said. "These are three great games in order to help us prepare us to get where our ultimate goal is.
"But I knew our guys wouldn't quit," he continued. "No matter what the score is, they look forward to this challenge every year."
Chaminade will play in the consolation round on Tuesday against BYU at 11:30 a.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
