HONOLULU – The Chaminade University men's basketball team opened the Pacific West Conference season with a disappointing 80-75 loss to Concordia University Irvine Thursday at McCabe Gym.
The Silverswords nearly rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit but the Eagles made key baskets down the stretch to hand Chaminade only its second defeat in a conference opener in the last five years. Ironically CUI defeated Chaminade in the 2015-16 PacWest opener.
Erik Scheive (Marysville, Calif./Yuba College) had a team-high 18 points while
Brett Reed (Houston/Cabrillo College) collected his first double-double of the season with season-highs of 17 points and 14 rebounds. He also had three assists and three steals.
Justin Bridges (Atlanta/Georgia Highlands College) had a season-best 15 points with reigning PacWest Player of the Week
Austin Pope (Burbank, Calif./North Idaho College) adding 10 points, five boards and three assists.
Brian Chambers hit 14 of his 21 attempts for Concordia (7-2, 1-0 PacWest) for a game-high 38 points.
CUI's 30-11 run midway through the first half helped give the visitors its largest lead of the game at 37-20 with five minutes left to play in the first half. But CUH answered with a half-ending 7-0 run, capped by Scheive's 3-pointer.
The 'Swords chipped away at the deficit in the second, getting to within single digits on another of Scheive's three triples of the game. They continued to eat away at Concordia's lead and drew within a single point (68-67) with 3:50 remaining.
But Chaminade could not get any closer as Concordia made several key baskets down the stretch combined with two critical Silversword turnovers which helped to keep the Eagles ahead.
The 'Swords finished with a 43.1 percent field goal shooting night while CUI was at 49.2. Chaminade also dominated on the glass with a 42-26 edge in rebounding.
However, the 'Swords' 7-for-16 first-half free throw shooting came back to haunt them as well as their 18 turnovers, 22 of which were converted into points for Concordia.
The Silverswords will look to shake off the disappointment Saturday when they welcome California Baptist to McCabe Gym. The Lancers are again in the national rankings, checking in at No. 14 in the latest NABC Top-25 Poll.
CBU (6-1) was to have made its PacWest opener Thursday at Hawai'i Hilo. However, the floor at UH Hilo Gymnasium was deemed unsafe after heavy rains and humidity levels at 97 percent rendered the floor too slick to play on.
Saturday's game tips at 7:30 p.m. with live streaming audio at GoSwords.com. Students, staff and faculty with a valid Chaminade ID in attendance will also get a free hot dog, chips and a bottle of water courtesy of Board of Regent members Dan and Judy Goo.
