HONOLULU – In dire need of a win to stay in the race for the Pacific West Tournament next month, the Chaminade University men's basketball team got it with a convincing 83-57 win over their intercity rival, Hawai'i Pacific University.
The Silverswords got 35 points off the bench – 19 from
Kiran Shastri and 12 from
James Harper – as the team improved to 9-11 overall and 6-8 in the PacWest. The win inched them to 1 ½ games behind the Sharks (13-8 overall, 8-7 PacWest) for the sixth and final spot for the tournament.
Shastri was 7-for-8 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. Sixteen of his points came in the second half.
Oscar Pedroso, making his first career start, dropped in a career-high 17 points, hitting 6-of-9 from the floor, including two 3-pointers.
Kevin Hu and Franki Eteuati each had eight points and eight rebounds in the win. Eteuati also had three blocked shots.
The Silverswords also buried 11 3-pointers on the afternoon, tied for the second-highest total this season.
Darry Jones Jr. and Luke Hager led the Sharks with 13 points each.
The Silverswords led 14-13 with 9:33 left when Shastri's basket made way for a Chaminade run.
David Ware then got a steal and got the outlet pass to
Kahanu Pu`ulei-Auld for a layup. Like Pedroso, Pu`ulei-Auld also made his first career start. The Silverswords' 14-0 run was capped by a monstrous Eteuati flush to give them a 28-13 lead, prompting a Sharks' timeout.
A Sharks' 3-pointer ended the run, but the 'Swords defense continued to hold HPU to one shot possessions. A Harper 3-ball and
Michael Louder's layup with a second left at the buzzer gave Chaminade a 38-20 halftime lead.
The 'Swords didn't stop after the break with Eteuati and Pedroso opening the second half with back-to-back buckets. Up 44-24, Chaminade began to put the game away. After Shastri's jumper, the 'Swords' next four baskets were from long range with Shastri hitting three of them and one by
James Harper, giving the Silverswords a 58-31 lead with 15:23 left to play.
An HPU mini-run got the lead down to 18 at 60-42 with 13 minutes left, but Pedroso scored six straight on a 3-pointer and a traditional 3-point play to put the 'Swords back up 66-42.
Chaminade hit 50 percent of its shots while holding the Sharks to only 30 percent from the floor. The Silverswords also out-rebounded HPU, 45-34, and had 15 assists to the Sharks' nine. Ware had four assists while Harper dished out three.
The 26-point margin of victory was the largest by the Silverswords in the rivalry since an 89-56 win on Jan. 9, 2008.
The 'Swords are back in action on Thursday when they open their final Mainland trip of the season at Dixie State.
