HILO, Hawai'i – A frigid first half resulted in the Chaminade University men's basketball team dropping their second consecutive contest, a 79-66 loss Saturday to Hawai'i Hilo at Vulcans Gymnasium.
Rohndell Goodwin paced the Silverswords with 21 points, 17 coming in the second half.
Kiran Shastri added 14 points while
Austin Pope had 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Chaminade, which fell to 4-5 overall and 2-2 in the Pacific West Conference, scored 16 first-half points, the lowest in
Eric Bovaird's head coaching tenure, hitting only seven of its 27 shots in the first 20 minutes. By contract in the first meeting on Nov. 30 at McCabe Gym, the 'Swords hung 57 points on UH Hilo in the second half.
The Vulcans improved to 3-5 and 2-2 as Parker Farris dropped seven 3-pointers for a game-high 28 points. The game also marked the sixth straight meeting that the home team has won on its home floor.
UH Hilo opened the game by scoring the first seven points and by the midway point in the first half, owned a 19-9 lead. The Vulcans enjoyed a 16-point advantage at the break.
UHH's lead swelled to as many as 21 early in the second half but the 'Swords mounted a charge as Goodwin scored 10 points in a two-minute span while buckets by
Tyler Cartaino and
Sam Daly brought them closer. Shastri's 3-pointer made it 49-39 with 12:44 left but it was as close as Chaminade could get.
The 'Swords managed to recover from their dismal first half woes and hit 16-of-31 shots in the second half. However the Vulcans were 15 of 23 from the field in the final 20 minutes.
Chaminade managed only five triples all game and was out-boarded 45-26.
The Silverswords will step out of conference play Wednesday when they face Seattle Pacific at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with live streaming audio on GoSwords.com.
