RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The series between the Chaminade University and California Baptist men's basketball teams continues to be kind to the home team.
The Silverswords couldn't overcome a late surge by the Lancers as they fell 106-89 Thursday at Van Dyne Gym.
Chaminade fell to 5-8 overall and 3-3 in the Pacific West Conference. California Baptist, ranked 14
th in the nation, improved to 13-2 and 4-1. The home team is 6-1 in the series since the Lancers joined the PacWest in 2011-12. It will also be the only meeting between the teams this season.
Kuany Kuany and
Rohndell Goodwin each had 17 points and seven rebounds to pace the Silverswords.
Sam Daly added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Oscar Pedroso chipped in with 13 points while
Kiran Shastri had 12.
The Lancers, the preseason favorite to win the conference, got 33 points from Preseason Player of the year Gelaun Wheelwright who was 13 of 23 from the floor and hit five 3-pointers. Taj Spencer had 18 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for CBU.
The 'Swords fell behind early, trailing 14-4 in the opening four minutes. Chaminade slowly ate away at the lead with two buckets each from Pedroso and
David Ware then Kuany's three-point play with 8:13 left in the half gave the Silverswords their first lead at 28-27. The Lancers went ahead before Shastri, who was held without a 3-pointer for only the second time in his career on Tuesday, splashed a deep triple with a minute left in the half to swing the advantage back to Chaminade at 44-43. Wheelwright answered with a triple of his own to give CBU a 46-44 halftime lead.
Goodwin's layup a minute into the second half gave the 'Swords the lead again at 50-48 then his 3-pointer gave Chaminade a 64-61 lead with 13:41 left. But CBU scored nine unanswered for a 70-64 cushion with 11:44 left. Three minutes later, Shastri buried his second 3-ball to pull the 'Swords to within a single digit at 75-74 but Chaminade without a field goal for the next three minutes as the Lancers built a 13-point lead.
The 'Swords had one last shot as a pair of Kuany free throws narrowed the deficit to 84-76 with six minutes remaining but the Lancers again had a response. Wheelwright hit a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play while Alexander Birketoft also finished an old-fashion triple, part of a 13-4 run to help put the game away.
Chaminade shot just below 45 percent in the game while California Baptist hit 51.4 percent of its field goals including 22 of their 36 shots in the second half for a 61.1 percent clip. Both squads attempted 28 3-pointers with CBU making 10 while CUH made seven. The Lancers also controlled the glass 47-35.
The Silverswords conclude the road trip Saturday at Azusa Pacific.
