Box Score HONOLULU – It was certainly good to be back home for the Chaminade men's basketball team. Playing in only its second home game in the last 42 days, the Silverswords got back on the winning track with a 74-55 win against Notre Dame de Namur at McCabe Gym on Thursday.
The win not only snapped a 3-game losing streak – all on the road – but also clinched a Pacific West Conference Tournament berth for the 'Swords, which will be held in two weeks in San Diego. CUH is currently holding on to the No. 4 spot, only a half-game ahead of BYU-Hawai'i.
Freshman
Kiran Shastri buried 6-of-10 shots from beyond the arc for a game-high 22 points for Chaminade (14-11, 11-6 PacWest), giving him 68 3-pointers on the season, one behind conference leader Ryan Berg of California Baptist.
Kuany Kuany was a rebound shy of picking up his eighth double-double of the season (17 points, 9 rebounds) while hitting 7-of-9 from the floor.
Lee Bailey and
Tyree Harrison had eight apiece for the Silverswords.
NDNU (7-16, 6-11) was led by Simon Enciso's 19 points.
The 'Swords broke open a close game, outscoring the Argonauts, 19-5, in the final 8:40 of the first half to grab a 39-20 lead at the break.
Harrison's jumper 43 seconds into the second half gave the Silverswords a 41-20 lead. But a 16-4 Argos' run over the next six minutes would whittle Chaminade's lead to single digits at 45-36 before the Silverswords upped their advantage back to 17.
Again, the Argos made a run, chopping the deficit to 56-44 with 8:35 remaining. That's when the Silverswords found their touch from downtown. The 'Swords next five field goals all came from beyond the arc with Shastri knocking down three in a row, along with one from Bailey and
Rhys Murphy, giving Chaminade an insurmountable 20-point lead with 2:44 left.
The Silverswords shot an impressive 13-for-23 (56.5 percent) from the floor in the second half, giving them a 51.8 shooting percentage for the game while holding NDNU to a 39.6 percentage. The 'Swords also dominated on the glass with a 42-23 advantage, the second-highest differential for the team this season. They also hit 13 3-pointers, one shy of their season-high set twice this season (Nov. 25 against Baylor and Jan. 4 versus Dixie State).
The 'Swords are back in action on Saturday when they host Holy Names at 7:30 p.m. The game has been designated as a "White Out" night and all fans are encouraged to wear white. The first 100 students attending both the women's and men's doubleheader will receive a free special T-shirt, courtesy of the Chaminade Student Programming Board. Live audio of both games will be carried on goswords.com.
