HONOLULU – The Chaminade University men's basketball team is still trying to solve the riddle of getting the elusive victory over Hawai'i Pacific University.
The Silverswords on Saturday suffered a 102-82 loss to their intercity rivals at McCabe Gym.
Erik Scheive (Marysville, Calif./Yuba College) and
Austin Pope (Burbank, Calif./North Idaho College) each had 15 points in the loss.
Braden Koelliker (Kaysville, Utah/Colorado State) added 13 while
Brett Reed (Houston/Cabrillo College) had 11 which dropped them to 5-4 overall and 1-2 in the Pacific West Conference.
The Sharks, who are the defending PacWest regular season and tournament champions, were led by San Diego State transfer Niksha Federico's 24 points and 11 rebounds.
It's the 'Swords' sixth consecutive defeat to their rivals, their longest losing streak to HPU since dropping 12 straight from the mid- to late-1990s. It was also the Sharks' fourth consecutive win at McCabe Gym.
Dantley Walker (Panaca, Nev./UNLV) opened the game by drilling a 3-pointer but the Sharks immediately responded, going on a 15-4 run to take the lead which they never relinquished.
HPU built its lead to as many as 13 midways through the first half but Scheive, Walker and
Justin Bridges (Atlanta/Georgia Highlands) combined for 11 points during a 15-5 which cut the deficit to just three. The Sharks responded with a 13-5 run of their own to close the half and take a double-digit lead at halftime.
HPU opened the second half on a 10-0 surge to build a 21-point advantage. Chaminade never got closer to 12 the rest of the way.
The 'Swords were held to just under 48 percent from the field and were out-rebounded, 40-29. HPU was a blistering 58.7 percent (37 of 63) from the floor with many of their makes coming from well past 15 feet out. The visitors also made 12 of their 22 tries from long range.
The Silverswords will look to shake of the disappointment next Saturday when they host Hawai'i Hilo at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with live streaming audio on GoSwords.com.
