HONOLULU –Dixie State continues to be the proverbial thorn in the Chaminade University men's basketball team's side.
The Red Storm defeated the Silverswords for the eighth straight meeting and the 13
th time in the last 14 contests as they outlasted Chaminade, 103-100, in overtime Saturday at McCabe Gym.
Brandon Simister had game-high 24 points for Dixie State including an off-balance, desperation 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. Trevor Hill added 21 for DSU which improved to 9-7 overall and 6-4 in the Pacific West Conference.
Kiran Shastri had a team-high 22 points for Chaminade (7-10, 5-5 PacWest), burying six 3-pointers.
Rohndell Goodwin added 19 points in the loss which saw the 'Swords' five-game home winning streak snapped.
Kuany Kuany had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Silverswords with
Kevin Hu contributing with 12 points.
Sam Daly had 11 points, seven boards and a season-high nine assists while
Oscar Pedroso had 10 points.
DSU's win also meant it swept the season series for the fourth straight season. Chaminade's last win over Dixie State was in February 2012 in St. George, Utah.
The Red Storm was ahead for the game's first 10 minutes, leading by as many as 10 points. But
James Harper opened a 12-0 run by hitting a 3-pointer while Goodwin was feeling the touch as well, hitting a pair of triples and adding a short jumper, giving Chaminade its first lead of the game at 22-20 with 8:45 left in the first half. The 'Swords built their lead to as many as six but the Red Storm's 10-0 run to end the half gave them a 40-36 lead at intermission.
Chaminade eventually retook the lead in the second half as Shastri buried four triples in the first 12 minutes of the second half. Hu then intercepted Mason Sawyer's pass and threw down an emphatic dunk on the breakaway which was part of a 12-0 run to help bring even more life to the raucous crowd run. The 'Swords eventually built the lead to as many as 11 with under six minutes left but the Dixie State had other ideas.
Behind a 10-1 run, the Red Storm got back into the contest and trailed by only two with 2:48 left. However, Chaminade still managed to hold an 87-81 advantage with 49 seconds left. But the Silverswords made only two of their four free throws in the final 25 seconds, opening the door for Dixie State. After a missed triple, DSU grabbed the offensive board and with time winding down, Simister, while falling towards his left, jacked up a desperation triple with two seconds left which hit nothing but net, tying the game at 89. The 'Swords nearly pulled out a miracle of their own as their three-quarter-court heave hit the back of the rim at the buzzer.
In the extra session, Dixie State grabbed a four-point lead but buckets from Daly and another from Goodwin gave Chaminade its only lead in overtime at 97-96 with two minutes left. Trevor Hill hit consecutive baskets to put DSU up 101-98 with 11 seconds left. Harper was then hacked while attempting a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining, giving him three free throws to potentially tie the game. But Harper made only 2 of 3, leaving Chaminade down by a point. Simister then hit two free throws on the other end putting DSU up by three. Daly then attempted his own desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer but the ball hit the side of the rim, giving the Red Storm the improbable win.
In the end and despite shooting 52 percent from the floor, Chaminade was only 11-of-19 from the free throw line while Dixie State hit 27 of its 31 tries. DSU, which came into the game averaging a league-worst 3.8 made 3-pointers per game, hit 10 of 18 from beyond the arc. The 'Swords hit 13 from downtown. Both teams pulled down 36 rebounds.
The Silverswords are away from McCabe Gym for their next five contests, starting Tuesday against Hawai'i Pacific University at Moanalua High School Gym. The team then goes on their Bay Area tour, beginning Saturday at Academy of Art.
