ST. GEORGE, Utah – On the road with a depleted roster in a hostile environment, the Chaminade University men's basketball team still nearly found a way to win at one of the toughest places to play in the Pacific West Conference.
The Silverswords got 22 points and eight rebounds from
Kuany Kuany, 20 off the bench from
Kiran Shastri and a career-high 19 from Franki Eteuati, but Dixie State hit key buckets and free throws in the waning minutes to deal Chaminade a 93-91 defeat Thursday in front of a crowd of 2,692 at Burns Arena.
The Silverswords dropped to 9-12 overall and 6-9 in the PacWest. The loss combined with Hawai'i Pacific's win at Point Loma put the 'Swords 2 1/2 games behind the Sharks for the coveted sixth and final spot in next month's PacWest Tournament in Irvine, Calif.
Dixie State, Azusa Pacific, BYU-Hawai'i and California Baptist each secured berths into the tournament on Thursday, leaving Chaminade battling Point Loma, HPU and Academy of Art for the final two spots.
DeQuan Thompson led a trio of Dixie State players with 20 or more points with 22 on the night.
The Red Storm (16-6, 13-3 PacWest) grabbed a seven-point lead early, but Shastri buried three triples in a two-plus minute span to pull Chaminade to within 28-27. An 11-1 Red Storm run put them up by double-digits (39-28) for the first time, but a 14-4 'Swords run inched them closer to 43-42 with 93 seconds left in the half. Two free throws each from
Kevin Hu and Eteuati put the 'Swords down only 47-46 at halftime.
DSU opened the second half with consecutive treys, but Eteuati hit two layups while a Kuany jumper again brought CUH to a single point at 53-52. Then with the score knotted at 64, Eteuati hit a layup for the lead then rocked the rim with a throw down off
David Ware's pass to give the Silverswords a 68-64 advantage.
Eventually, the Red Storm re-took the lead at 77-76 with 6:17 left on Mark Ogden's bucket. Chaminade was able to force two more ties, the last coming at 84-all after
James Harper's layup with 2:20 left. Robbie Nielson's triple two possessions later gave DSU an 87-84 lead. After a series of free throws on both sides, Ware drilled a 3 with 7 seconds left to close the gap to 93-91.
Mason Sawyer then missed two free throws that would've sealed the game, giving the 'Swords one last chance. But Ware's desperation heave from past mid-court for the win would not be answered as the Red Storm escaped.
Chaminade managed to hold DSU under 50 percent from the field (48.5), but shot only 41.7. The 'Swords were also out-rebounded, 40-34, and allowed 21 assists, but they also hit 13 3-pointers and were 28-of-31 at the foul line with Shastri a perfect 8-for-8 while Hu was 8-for-9.
The Silverswords will look to bounce back Saturday when they face California Baptist in Riverside, Calif.
