SAN FRANCISCO – The 12th-ranked Chaminade University men's basketball team suffered their second consecutive road defeat Wednesday, falling short to Academy of Art, 71-69, at historic Kezar Pavilion.
The Silverswords nearly pulled out an improbably rally after trailing by 10 with less than three minutes remaining.
Grant Dressler (Las Vegas/Sacramento State/Palo Verde HS),
Erik Scheive (Marysville, Calif./Yuba College/Marysville HS) and
Tyler Cartaino (Newbury Park, Calif./Newbury Park) were a triple-tandem scoring machine, accounting for all but nine of Chaminade's points in the game.
Dressler scored 13 of his team-high 22 points in the second half while Scheive posted his second double-double of the season (21 points, 10 rebounds). Cartaino added 17 with five boards.
Nicholas Anderson (Anaheim, Calif./Fullerton College/Canyon HS) and
Jake Hutchings (Las Vegas/Howard College/Centennial HS) combined for the 'Swords' other nine points.
Anderson also had seven boards while Cartaino and
Andre Arissol (Northampton, England/Otero JC/Charnwood HS) had five each. Cartaino also had three steals and two blocks.
Chaminade fell to 10-2 overall and 4-2 in the Pacific West Conference.
The Urban Knights (3-8, 2-2 PacWest) were led by Andrija Blatancic's 24 points and 11 boards. It was just ART U's second all-time win over Chaminade which still holds a 15-2 series lead.
After trailing for a majority of the first half, the 'Swords finally forged ahead (23-21) with two Dressler free throws at the 6:28 mark. However it proved to be short-lived as the Knights tied it a minute later then took the lead for good with 5:16 remaining.
Dressler made a heads-up play right before the end of the first half, catching ART U off guard when he threw a strike to an all-alone Hutchings under the basket at the buzzer to become just the fourth Silversword on the scoreboard in the first half.
The 'Swords forced three ties in the second half with the final at 40-40 with 15:12 left but a 16-2 ART U run over the next six minutes put them ahead 56-42 and was later expanded to 62-47 with 4:29 left, CUH's largest deficit of the game.
Then with three minutes left and down 66-55, the 'Swords made one final push, hitting seven straight free throws to pull within 71-67. Scheive's layup cut the lead to just 71-69 on Chaminade's next possession then the 'Swords forced a missed shot on the Knights' next possession, giving them a final chance to force overtime or take the lead outright.
However Arissol's potential game-winning 3-pointer with just two seconds left was too strong. Scheive nearly tipped in the put-back which would've forced overtime but to no avail, giving Academy of Art a victory against its highest-ranked opponent.
Chaminade made just 19-of-61 field goals for 31.1 percent, the team's lowest shooting percentage since Jan. 29, 2011 when the Silverswords hit just 29.5 at Dixie State. They dished out just four assists, the fewest against a Division II opponent since January 2011 when they also had four against Dominican.
The 'Swords were outdone on the boards (42-30) but did force 15 ART U giveaways. They also made 28 of 30 of their free throw opportunities.
The Silverswords are next in action Saturday at Dominican.
