LA MIRADA, Calif. – The Chaminade University men's basketball needed a win in the worst possible way and got it with a 71-59 victory against Biola Saturday at Chase Gymnasium.
Austin Pope (Burbank, Calif./North Idaho College) and
Erik Scheive (Marysville, Calif./Yuba College) scored 15 points each to help the Silverswords (15-10) snap a three-game losing streak in the final game of their Southern California road trip. Scheive also pulled down seven rebounds while Pope had three assists.
The victory also moved the 'Swords into a tie with Academy of Art for the sixth and final spot in the Pacific West Conference Tournament which will be in Riverside, Calif. in two weeks. Both Chaminade and ART U – who routed Notre Dame de Namur earlier in the day – are 10-8 in the conference with two games remaining.
Hawai'i Pacific University, which was the third team tied for sixth entering the day, lost at PacWest-leading Dixie State to fall a game back at 9-9.
Grant Dressler (Las Vegas/Sacramento State) had 12 points and seven boards while
Dantley Walker (Panaca, Nev./UNLV) hit for 10.
Brett Reed (Houston/Cabrillo College) ripped down 12 boards.
Biola (11-16, 5-14 PacWest) was led by Trevor Treinen's 23 points.
Knowing that ART U had won its game just two hours before tipoff and needing to win to keep pace, the Silverswords began flat, missing their first eight shots to fall behind 7-0 five minutes into the game. Dressler finally got them on the board with a layup.
The bucket seemed to settle them down as they chipped away at the deficit. Chaminade finally took its first lead of the game on Walker's first of two 3-pointers of the game at 18-16 which was part of an 11-0 run. Dressler buried two treys and threw down a fast-break dunk during the surge. A layup by
Nate Pollard (Bountiful, Utah/Rice) put up Chaminade up 25-16 at the 4:47 mark of the first half. Another Walker triple and a Dressler jam helped put the visitors up 30-20 at the break.
The Eagles managed to hang around in the second half but each time they made a run, the 'Swords were there to nullify it, keeping their lead between 8-to-12 points.
Down by 12 with 3:40 remaining, Biola attempted to get back in the game by employing its version of "Hack-a-Shaq," fouling Pope on each possession. The maneuver, however, backfired as Pope, who grew up 30 miles away, made 7-of-9 from the free throw line including his final six tries to give the Silverswords the win they desperately needed.
Both teams shot below expectations (CUH 42.2 percent; BU 39.7) and both struggled from beyond the arc (CUH 4-for-22; BU 3-for-22). Chaminade, however, out-rebounded Biola, 42-35 and outscored its bench, 21-11.
The 'Swords, whose recent swoon has been attributed to their poor free throw shooting (below 67 percent in five of their last six losses), did not let the freebies go this time, making 13-of-16 from the charity stripe.
Chaminade returns to the islands and will play its final game away from McCabe Gym on Thursday when they play at Hawai'i Hilo in yet another critical game in the race for the PacWest's final tournament spot. The Silverswords return to McCabe Gym next Saturday against Azusa Pacific in their regular-season finale that could very well determine whose season will be extended.
