HONOLULU - Not even victories come easy for the Chaminade University men's basketball team.
The Silverswords built a double-digit lead then hung on in the final seconds to escape with an 83-80 win over Holy Names Saturday at McCabe Gym.
Oscar Pedroso came off the bench to lead the 'Swords with 16 points while
Rohndell Goodwin tallied 15 and seven rebounds.
Kuany Kuany had 13 points and nine rebounds while
Sam Daly chipped in with 12 as the 'Swords improved to 2-6 on the year and 1-1 in the Pacific West Conference.
Joshua Crum had a game-high 27 points for the Hawks (1-8, 0-2).
Chaminade's
Kevin Hu had 10 points, giving him 996 career points. He also had six boards. HNU's 80 points was the fewest allowed by the 'Swords this season.
It's the fourth time this season the Silverswords have built a double-digit first half lead only to see the opposition rally. The 'Swords are 2-2 in such games this season.
Chaminade outscored Holy Names 14-6 midway through the first half to build their first double-digit lead of the game which they maintained the rest of the stanza, holding a 34-22 advantage at the break.
Then halfway through the second half, the 'Swords began to pull away as
Kiran Shastri knocked down a pair of triples while Kuany had a layup and dunk during a three-minute span that gave Chaminade a 47-29 cushion. The lead eventually swelled to 21 (57-36) with 8:27 left before Holy Names slowly ate away at the deficit.
The Hawks reduced the 'Swords' lead to single digits with 1:27 left at 76-67. Isaiah Juarez drilled 3-pointer with 33 seconds left then on the Hawks' next possession, Crum was fouled while making a layup. Crum missed the free throw but the Hawks grabbed the offensive board which led to another Juarez triple and suddenly, it was a one-possession game at 80-77.
Chris Johnstone kept HNU at bay with a pair of free throws but Juarez hit two of his own to keep the difference at three at 82-79 with just nine seconds left. The 'Swords then turned the ball over on the inbounds, giving the Hawks a chance to tie. Crum was then fouled, made the first free throw but missed the second. Kuany grabbed the board and was fouled then hit one of two shots from the free throw line for an 83-80 lead. However, the Hawks' desperation three-quarter court heave was way off the mark, leaving the 'Swords to escape with the victory.
It was Chaminade's sixth straight win over Holy Names since the Hawks joined the conference in 2012-13. But it was also the closest margin of victory after having beaten them by an average of 21 points in the last three meetings.
The 'Swords shot 56.4 percent from the field, their highest this season while holding the Hawks to 39.2. They also outrebounded them 42-35 but Chaminade also committed 18 turnovers while Holy Names had only nine. Free throw shooting continues to be an issue with the 'Swords as they were only 16-of-25 from the charity stripe.
The Silverswords return to the McCabe Gym floor Thursday as they face Hawai'i-Hilo at 7:30 p.m. Live streaming audio will be available at GoSwords.com.
