HONOLULU – The Chaminade University men's basketball team got more than they bargained for from visiting Academy of Art on Senior Night.
The Silverswords nearly surrendered a 19-point lead, but held on down the stretch to send seniors
Lee Bailey,
Frankie Eteuati and
AJ Mathew out as winners in their final collegiate game, defeating the Urban Knights, 90-78, Saturday at McCabe Gym.
Bailey finished his spectacular four-year career by pouring in a season-high 27 points on five 3-pointers for Chaminade, which ended the season at 12-14 overall and 9-11 in the Pacific West Conference.
The Detroit, Mich., native passed former 'Sword standout Tim Dunham to finish with 1,426 points, putting him sixth in the all-time Chaminade scoring list.
"I've had a great career here and a great time at Chaminade," Bailey said. "From everyone here to the bonds I've formed with my (teammates) and the fan support, I wouldn't change a thing."
Bailey also finished seventh in career assists with 393 and fifth in steals with 135.
Mathew got his first start of the season and pulled down career-high nine rebounds in his final game while Eteauti ended his brief Chaminade career with 80 blocked shots, seventh-most in program history.
Kuany Kuany dropped 17 points with eight rebounds while
Kevin Hu added 13.
Oscar Pedroso and
Kiran Shastri came off the bench with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
The Silverswords took control early as they blistered the nets by burying seven 3-pointers in the game's first eight minutes with Bailey, Shastri and Pedroso each knocking down two each to help give the Silverswords a 27-12 lead. With a 51-34 halftime advantage, it appeared the rout was on.
The 'Swords would build the lead to 19 three times early in the second, but ART U chipped away with a 10-0 to close to within 58-51. Then a 17-7 surge brought the Urban Knights to 72-70 with four minutes left. But Pedroso buried a clutch 3 and the Silverswords took care of business at the foul line, hitting 13-of-14 in the final three minutes to seal the game with Hu going a perfect 6-for-6 while Bailey hit 5-of-6.
"It was something I'll never forget," Mathew said of the post-game celebration. "It was good to be with the team and good to finish with these guys and go out with a win. It kind of got scary in the end, but thankfully we pulled it out and ended the season with a win."
"It was nice to pull it out," Eteauti added. "It was like everything AJ said."
ART U got 17 points from Alexis Moore to end its season at 7-19 and 5-15 in the PacWest.
