HONOLULU – The Chaminade University men's basketball team's season thus far has been epitomized by the lack of putting teams away in the second half.
But on Thursday against Hawai'i-Hilo, the Silverswords never allowed the Vulcans to make the big second-half run in their 89-75 win at McCabe Gym.
Sam Daly scored a season-high 24 points along with 10 rebounds and five assists for the 'Swords while
Rohndell Goodwin added 20 points and seven rebounds.
Kevin Hu chipped in with 16 as he became the 14
th Silversword in team history to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier with a free throw early in the game.
Daly, Goodwin, Hu and
Kuany Kuany (15 points, nine rebounds) went a combined 28-for-41 from the floor as Chaminade improved to 3-6 overall and 2-1 Pacific West Conference.
UH-Hilo (0-5, 0-2 PacWest) was paced by Parker Farris who had 23 points with seven made 3-pointers.
The Silverswords led wire-to-wire, opening up an early 23-9 lead with Daly accounting for six points and the first of Kuany's four 3-pointers, followed by another from
Kiran Shastri. But Patrick Ball's dunk on a baseline drive ignited a 13-0 Hilo run as Ball scored seven points during the rally to bring the Vulcans to 23-22 with 9:45 left in the half.
But Goodwin's layup and triple bookended a Chaminade 11-0 run as the 'Swords built the lead to as many as 18 late in the first half with the home team holding a 49-33 lead at the break.
Chaminade built the lead back to 18 midway through the second half before Farris hit three of his triples to bring the Vulcans to 79-69 with just over four minutes remaining. But free throws from Daly and Goodwin followed by Kuany's final 3-ball of the night extended the Silverswords' lead and put the Vulcans away.
Chaminade shot 54.8 percent from the floor, its fifth straight game of shooting 50 percent or more. The Silverswords held the rebounding edge 41-31 and hit 14-of-19 from the foul line while the Vulcans only got to the line 10 times, making six. The 'Swords also held a 40-28 advantage inside the paint.
The Silverswords return to action on Saturday, Dec. 19 as they make the hour-long drive to the North Shore to face BYU-Hawai'i at the Cannon Activities Center. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
