HONOLULU - The epitome of the Chaminade University men's basketball team's season has been their inability to hold big leads.
For the third time this year, the Silverswords saw a double-digit first half lead evaporate as they fell in their Pacific West Conference opener to Concordia 92-89 in overtime Thursday at McCabe Gym.
The 'Swords owned a 14-point halftime lead. They also had leads in a loss at Alaska (18 points) and in Saturday's overtime win against Cal State San Marcos (17).
Kuany Kuany had a team-high 22 points for Chaminade, which fell to 1-6 overall and 0-1 to start conference play.
JT Roach had a game-high 27 points, hitting six 3-pointers as Concordia won its first-ever PacWest game in improving to 6-1 (1-0 PacWest) on the year. Stephen Grosey had 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Eagles which won an NAIA national championship in 2012.
Kevin Hu had 16 points for the 'Swords while
Sam Daly and
Kiran Shastri had 14 each with
Rohndell Goodwin added 12. Daly also pulled down nine rebounds and dished out eight assists while Kuany had eight boards on the night.
The first 13 minutes of the game was tooth-and-nail with no team able to gain decisive control. Trailing 32-30 with 6:42 left in the first half, Shastri's driving layup sparked a 19-4 run to end the half. Hu drilled a triple while Kuany had two 3-balls including one with 21 seconds left in the frame to give the 'Swords a 49-36 cushion at the break.
Chaminade held a double-digit lead for nearly 11 minutes of the second half before Concordia made its move. A 10-2 run brought the Eagles to within a point at 79-78 with 2:35 left then Grosey's bucket knotted the score at 82 two minutes later. The 'Swords had a chance to win it in regulation but Daly's runner down the right side of the key was off the mark and Chaminade had its second overtime contest in as many games.
In the extra session, there were two ties and three lead changes including a triple from CUI's Martin Thomas at the top of the key which broke an 87-all tie with just over a minute left. After two Shastri free throws cut the deficit to 90-89, Chaminade got possession back with 34 seconds left. But Hu's fade away attempt was tapped away and caromed near midcourt where Matt Scott retrieved the ball and powered down a dunk for insurance. The 'Swords had a chance to send the game into a second overtime but Daly never got off a clean look at the basket as time expired.
Despite shooting 53 percent from the field, the Silverswords were haunted by 18 turnovers and could only muster five offensive rebounds while the Eagles grabbed 12 offensive boards and turned those into 13 second-chance points. The 'Swords also shot themselves in the foot with two second-half technical fouls which CUI converted into four made free throws.
The Silverswords will look to right the ship Saturday when they host Holy Names at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with live streaming audio on GoSwords.com.
