HONOLULU –
Kiran Shastri's nickname should be "Captain Clutch."
For the second time in 12 days, Shastri played the role of hero, burying a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to lift the Chaminade University men's basketball team to an 87-86 come-from-behind win Wednesday against Seattle Pacific at McCabe Gym.
Shastri, whose triple with 10 seconds left gave the Silverswords the 64-63 win against Notre Dame de Namur on Dec. 2, received a pass from
Austin Pope and let fly a 27-footer from the left wing that found nothing but net.
"Four years of experience," Chaminade head coach
Eric Bovaird said. "And he knows I have the confidence in him to make the big shot. We drew up that last shot to get him the ball. The guys executed it to perfection; he caught it and drained it. It was a beautiful sight."
It's Shastri's third career game-winning or game-tying triple with 10 seconds or less remaining.
Chaminade improved to 5-5 in the non-conference matchup as
Rohndell Goodwin had a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds with three assists.
Sam Daly tied his season-high with 19 points, hitting 8 of his 10 shots from the floor. Pope went 8-for-11 with 17 points, eight boards and three assists while
Tyler Cartaino achieved career-highs with 11 points and five rebounds.
The Falcons, out of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, fell to 4-5 on the season with Gavin Long and Coleman Wooten each scoring 22 points.
Chaminade appeared to have gained control of the game midway through the first half as
Nate Pollard's baby hook gave the home team its first double-digit lead at 23-12. The 'Swords led by as many as 13 before SPU chipped away to draw to 42-33 at halftime.
But the momentum the Falcons built to end the first continued as they went on a 17-2 run to begin the second half, giving them a 50-44 lead at the 16:08 mark.
SPU led by as many as seven before the 'Swords slowly battled back. Goodwin's triple followed by a Daly layup, two from Pope then one from Cartaino put them ahead 72-71 with five minutes left. The Falcons retook the lead in the closing minutes but Daly's three-point play and his driving layup with 36 seconds left tied it up at 84.
Wooten was then fouled and hit both foul shots with seven seconds left to put SPU up 86-84, setting up the final dramatics.
While Shastri drew the immediate attention, Bovaird was quick to point out others who had a hand in the rally.
"Austin ran our offense to perfection and just did an unbelievable job," Bovaird said. "But I think the player of the game was Sam. He went 8-for-10 from the field and was a force driving to the basket, making decisions. Yes, Kiran made the shot but without Sam, we don't win this game."
Pope and Daly were 11 of 12 combined from the floor in the second half with Daly (7-of-8 second half shooting) scoring 15 points while Pope had nine. Chaminade committed only one turnover in the game's final 20 minutes.
The Silverswords resume Pacific West Conference action Saturday against Dominican University of California at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with live streaming audio on GoSwords.com.
