HONOLULU – Chaminade University men's basketball has a reputation as being "Giant Killers" in the land of college basketball. For a while, it appeared that their neighbor just down the street might be added to that list.
The Silverswords opened up a 22-point lead midway through the first half but could not sustain their blistering shooting from the floor as Division I University of Hawai'i-Manoa rallied and escaped with a 101-96 overtime exhibition game win Thursday in front of a crowd of 4,680 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Kiran Shastri led a contingent of six 'Swords in double-digits with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor while
Kuany Kuany had 15 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out.
Sam Daly, a transfer from Grand Canyon, came off the bench with 18 points with a dazzling array of acrobatic shots including an unbelievable 360-degree layup in the second half that even had the pro-UH crowd in wowing in amazement.
Rohndell Goodwin contributed with 11 points while
Kevin Hu and
Oscar Pedroso each had 10.
The Rainbow Warriors were led by Aaron Valdes' 31 points and 14 boards while Roderick Bobbitt had 20 points – 16 from the free throw line – and 15 assists as UH won in the head coaching debut of Eran Ganot.
With Chaminade holding onto a 21-18 lead midway through the first half, the 'Swords surged forward as a 19-0 run was triggered by two Kuany layups and bookended with two Shastri 3-pointers and one from Kuany. Hu's layup gave Chaminade a 40-18 lead with 5:20 left in the first half. But UH picked up their defensive intensity and closed the half on a 14-3 run, although the 'Swords still held a 43-32 lead at the break.
The Rainbow Warriors' momentum carried over into the second half, cutting the deficit to 43-41 but Chaminade refused to quit. Goodwin buried a pair of triples while Hu, Shastri and Daly hit free throws to extend the lead to 54-43 with 13:22 remaining. UH rallied again as Brocke Stepteau's triple gave UH their first lead since early in the first half at 81-79 with 1:14 left. But several missed Hawai'i free throws opened the door for CUH and down 84-82, Daly drove the left baseline and hit a reverse layup with six seconds left to send the game into overtime.
In the extra session, Valdes hit a jumper to give UH an 86-84 lead but Daly answered with a short jumper to tie it. But Valdes and Stepteau hit consecutive 3s to help put Hawai'i up 94-86. However the 'Swords showed no quit as they twice cut the deficit to four but simply ran out of time.
Hawai'i shot 43.6 percent from the floor to Chaminade's 42 but the Silverswords controlled the glass with a 55-45 advantage. The Rainbow Warriors feasted at the free throw line, converting 22-of-35 to the 'Swords' 18-of-30. UH also had 26 assists while CUH dropped 17 dimes.
The Silverswords will open the season next Friday in Fairbanks, Alaska, in the PacWest/GNAC Challenge against Alaska Anchorage.
