FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The temperature hovered well-below zero but inside at the Alaska Airlines Court, the Chaminade University and Alaska men's basketball teams were burning up the net.
The teams combined to hit 34 3-pointers as the Nanooks defeated the Silverswords in a shootout 112-102 in the final day of the PacWest/GNAC Challenge.
Oscar Pedroso had a career-high 23 points for the 'Swords while
James Harper came off the bench with 21. Pedroso and Harper combined to hit10 of the team's 18-made triples with Pedroso hitting six.
Chaminade (0-2) also got double-digit point production from
Kuany Kuany (12 points),
Kevin Hu (12) and
Kiran Shastri (11). Kuany also pulled down12 rebounds, his second double-double in as many games.
Travante Williams led the Nanooks (2-0) with a game-high 25 points.
The 'Swords began the game in furious fashion, hitting their first eight shots of the game including five triples. Three were from Pedroso who had 13 of the team's first 23 points in the opening five minutes.
Chaminade eventually built the lead to as many as 18 at 47-29 with less than six minutes left in the half. But the Nanooks charged back on a 16-0 run and eventually took a 54-53 lead at the half.
The 'Swords shot 62.1 percent from the floor (18-of-29) and nearly 69 percent (11-of-18) from long range in the first half. UAF kept up by hitting 10 first-half triples.
In the second half, Hu's 3-point play tied the game at 60 with 16:16 left but Alaska slowly began to pull away, eventually building a 13-point lead with nine minutes left. The 'Swords whittled the deficit to eight at 100-92 with four minutes left but that would be as close as they got.
The 'Swords finished with a 54.8 shooting percentage from the floor but were held to 48.5 in the second half while the Nanooks shot just under 53 percent. Chaminade held the advantage in rebounding (36-34) and assists (21-15).
The Silverswords are next in action on Monday, Nov. 23 when they face No.4 Kansas in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational at 4 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
