SAN FRANCISCO – The Chaminade University men's basketball team's second game of their current road trip did not go their way at Kezar Pavilion.
Nick Cary's 3-pointer from the right wing at the buzzer helped guide Academy of Art to a stunning 76-73 win over the Silverswords in a Pacific West Conference game on Monday.
Just six seconds earlier, Chaminade had forced a 70-all tie when
James Harper drilled a corner 3 with a defender in face for his only triple of the game.
It's the Silverswords first-ever defeat to the Urban Knights. Chaminade had previously won the first 11 games of the series.
Kuany Kuany led the Silverswords (6-8 overall, 3-5 PacWest) with 18 points while also pulling down seven rebounds with three steals.
Frankie Eteuati came off the bench with a career-high 15 points, making nine free throws. The senior forward also ripped down eight boards and tied his career-best with four blocks.
Lee Bailey,
Kiran Shastri and Harper each had 12 points to round out the 'Swords double-digit scorers. Shastri and Harper also combined for 11 boards.
The 'Swords never led as the Urban Knights had as many as an eight-point lead after the game's first five minutes at 13-5. Eteuati scored four points while Kuany knocked down a 3-pointer as a 7-0 'Swords run narrowed the deficit to 13-12. ART U would then use a 10-5 run over the next four minutes to re-establish an eight-point advantage and ultimately a 36-32 halftime lead.
The Urban Knights upped their lead to nine just minutes into the second half, but Chaminade scrapped back. Kuany netted four points in a 10-2 run to chop their deficit down to 46-44 six minutes into the half. Then a pair of Eteuati free throws tied it at 52, the game's first deadlock at the 9:36 mark.
After another tie (54-54), ART U got back-to-back buckets from Herman Pratt and Jase Harrison to put it up 59-54 with 8:18 left. Two more Eteuati free throws and a Shastri jumper brought the deficit down to a single point.
However, ART U persevered, eventually grabbing a 70-65 lead with 2:28 remaining. Kuany hit 1-of-2 foul shots, followed by two from Bailey, reducing the deficit to 70-68. Chaminade then forced a turnover, which led to Kuany's jumper to tie it at 70 with a minute left. The Urban Knights got a bucket and a free throw to go up 73-70 with 17 ticks left on the clock to set up the game's frantic finish.
The 'Swords feasted from the charity stripe, hitting a season-high 31 shots on 39 attempts. However, Chaminade was out-shot percentage-wise, 44.9-39.8, and out-rebounded, 37-34. They also had a season-low seven assists and had 14 turnovers. However, they were able to force 15 ART U giveaways.
David Ware managed to record four steals for the 'Swords.
Shastri went 0-for-5 from beyond arc, ending his streak of consecutive games with at least one made 3-pointer at 42.
The Silverswords remain on the road to face Dominican on Thursday.
