HILO, Hawai'i – The Chaminade University men's basketball team had a golden opportunity to punch their ticket to the postseason Thursday after Academy of Art was upset at home by Fresno Pacific.
The 15-11 Silverswords, however, couldn't hang on to a six-point lead midway through the second half as Hawai'i Hilo rallied for a 94-86 win at the Hilo Civic Auditorium. A Chaminade win would've clinched the sixth and final spot in next week's Pacific West Conference Tournament in Riverside, Calif.
Now their season comes down to a single game in a possible win-or-stay-home scenario.
Austin Pope (Burbank, Calif./North Idaho College) led the 'Swords with 23 points while
Grant Dressler (Las Vegas/Sacramento State) recorded his first double-double with career highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Randon Berinobis had 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Vulcans (7-19, 6-13 PacWest). The Big Island has been a place of horrors for the 'Swords who have lost four straight in Hilo.
Erik Scheive (Marysville, Calif./Yuba College) added 17 points while
Justin Bridges (Atlanta/Georgia Highlands College) had 15 for Chaminade.
Despite the disappointment, the 'Swords still control their own destiny for the tournament's final spot.
Chaminade and ART U are both 10-9 with one game remaining. A Silverswords win over Azusa Pacific (19-8, 15-4 PacWest) in Saturday's regular season finale will clinch the spot no matter the outcome of ART U's game against Concordia. Chaminade can also clinch if Academy of Art loses to CUI.
However a CUH loss to APU and an Urban Knights win means the 'Swords will be staying home.
As is the nature of the rivalry, the game went back and forth in the opening minutes with Hilo getting no more than a five-point lead before Chaminade took a 33-32 lead on a Bridges layup. Later a 3-pointer from
Nicholas Anderson (Anaheim, Calif./Fullerton College) with 1:49 left in the half gave the 'Swords a six-point lead, their largest of the first half.
Leading 48-43 at the break, Chaminade pounced in the opening seconds of the second half with triples from Dressler and a layup from
Brett Reed (Houston/Cabrillo College) on back-to-back possessions to put them up by 10, the 'Swords' largest of the game.
But UH Hilo stormed back with a 19-4 run to put them up 62-57. CUH then responded, tying the game at 65 on Dressler's shot then taking the lead back on
Dantley Walker's (Panaca, Nev./UNLV) driving layup on their next possession. Four free throws from Dressler and Pope put Chaminade up 71-65 with nine minutes left.
Despite having just eight players available due to injury and academic ineligibility the Vulcans, spurred by a boisterous crowd, caught up and went up by six (82-76) with four minutes left. Bridges' triple with 3:27 left cut the deficit to 82-79 but got no closer the remainder of the game as Hilo made several clutch shots down the stretch.
The 'Swords shot just under 39 percent in the game while UH Hilo shot 50 percent in both halves. Despite making 29-of-39 free throw tries to just 16-of-22 for the Vulcans, Chaminade made just five 3-pointers, two in the second half. UH Hilo made several back-breaking treys in the second half, 12 for the game.
Hilo's depleted bench also managed to outscore Chaminade's 21-10.
Saturday's finale at McCabe Gym will be the final home games for seniors Bridges, Pope, Walker,
Nate Pollard (Bountiful, Utah/Rice University) and
Matt Southard (Norman, Okla./Yavapai College). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
For the first time ever, there will be live streaming video for a Chaminade men's basketball home game through
ScoringLive. Live streaming audio will also be available on GoSwords.com.
