HONOLULU – About an hour before Tuesday's noon tipoff, the Chaminade University men's basketball team learned they advanced in the national rankings.
The NABC Coaches Poll saw the Silverswords move up two spots to No. 20, the team's highest ranking in their Division II era. Their long-time intercity rivals were hoping to spoil the party.
The 'Swords, however, did not let that scenario happen with a hard-fought 68-55 win over Hawai'i Pacific University at McCabe Gymnasium. The win improved Chaminade to 6-0 on the season, matching their best start since the 1983-84 season, one year before beginning the Maui Jim Maui Invitational Era.
Six Silverswords had seven or more points, led by 17 from
Grant Dressler (Las Vegas/Sacramento State/Palo Verde HS).
Andre Arissol (Northampton, England/Otero JC/Charnwood HS) added 12 and
Tyler Cartaino (Newbury Park, Calif./Newbury Park) 10. Dressler hauled in six rebounds while Cartaino had four assists.
Chaminade's victory was its first over the Sharks at McCabe Gym since December 2013, snapping a four-game home losing streak to their longtime crosstown rivals. Combined with last January's win at HPU, it also marked the 'Swords' first back-to-back wins over their rivals since taking both games during the 2013-14 season.
Masa Swain (San Jose, Calif./Bellermine Prep) continued his recent scoring binge with nine points on the afternoon. The redshirt junior has 28 points in his last two games after averaging less than a point per game in the first 28 games of his career.
Erik Scheive (Marysville, Calif./Yuba College/Marysville HS) added eight points and a team-high nine rebounds while
Nicholas Anderson (Anaheim, Calif./Fullerton College/Canyon HS) had seven.
The Sharks (3-3, 1-2 PacWest) were led by Spencer Vering and Lorenz Gordon-Haynes who had 13 points each.
CUH spotted HPU the game's first five points and didn't get on the board until three minutes in on Dressler's bucket. Swain broke an 11-all tie with a 3-pointer then the 'Swords forced turnovers on three consecutive HPU possessions as a part of a 7-0 run that put Chaminade up 18-11. A triple from Anderson and a Dressler's layup gave them their first double-digit lead (30-20) with two minutes left in the half.
A pair of free throws from
Morningstar Takapu (Goodyear, Ariz./Millennium) followed by a Dressler 3-point right before the half gave the 'Swords a 35-24 halftime advantage.
The 'Swords' lead swelled to as many as 14 early in the second half but the Sharks rallied back and cut the deficit to just three (57-54) with five minutes remaining. However Dressler's bucket with 3:18 left began a game-ending 11-1 run which helped keep Chaminade's undefeated streak intact.
The Silverswords, who are known more for their offense (89.3 points per game, ranked 16th nationally entering Tuesday), did their work on defense. They stifled the Sharks to a 31.7 percentage from the floor, an opponent-low this season. HPU's Jonathan Janssen, the Preseason PacWest Player of the Year, who carried an 18.8 points average entering the game, was held to just four on the day, his second-lowest scoring output in his HPU career.
The 'Swords hit 42 percent of their shots and was an excellent 14 of 16 from the foul line.
The Silverswords begin a grueling four-games-in-four-days stretch starting Saturday against Holy Names at McCabe Gym. The 'Swords will then open the Hoops in Hawai'i D2 Power Invitational on Sunday at the Hawai'i Convention Center against Western Washington, a squad that was ranked in the NABC poll until dropping out last week.
