OAKLAND, Calif. – It took a late run by the Chaminade University men's basketball team to shake off Holy Names University in the teams' first meeting on December 15.
In the rematch, however, the Silverswords didn't wait that long to put the game away.
Chaminade used a 17-0 run midway through the first half to turn a close game into a runaway Tuesday as they defeated Holy Names, 91-72, at Tobin Gym. The Silverswords improved to 12-2 overall and 6-2 in the Pacific West Conference.
Tyler Cartaino (Newbury Park, Calif./Newbury Park) had a career-high 25 in the win, hitting 10 of his 13 tries from the field.
Grant Dressler (Las Vegas/Sacramento State/Palo Verde HS) hit for 23 points, marking his third consecutive 20-point contest, while also dishing out seven assists.
Erik Scheive (Marysville, Calif./Yuba College/Marysville HS) and
Jake Hutchings (Las Vegas/Howard College/Centennial HS) each had 15. Cartaino and Scheive also pulled down six rebounds.
Nicholas Anderson (Anaheim, Calif./Fullerton College/Canyon HS) had seven points, five boards, three assists, three steals and a block.
Andre Arissol (Northampton, England/Otero JC/Charnwood HS) added six points, three rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocked shots.
Jewels Sanders led Holy Names (4-10, 3-6 PacWest) with 15 points.
Earlier in the day, the Silverswords learned they dropped eight spots to No. 20 in the NABC Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The D2SIDA Media Poll was not as kind as the 'Swords fell completely out of those rankings. And the 'Swords came out flat offensively to start the game.
They had two offensive fouls in their first two possessions but Anderson's steal and breakaway layup 90 seconds into represented the game's first points. Dressler and Cartaino got into the act, hitting back-to-back fast-break layups to put them up 6-0, forcing an HNU timeout.
The Hawks crawled back into the game and after Sanders' bucket that narrowed the margin to 19-18 with 11 minutes left in the half, Chaminade made its move.
Over the next four-and-a-half minutes, the Silverswords scored the game's next 17 points. Cartaino had nine points during the run including four straight to begin the surge including a 3-pointer. Dressler and Anderson also hit 3s during the run.
When the run concluded, Chaminade led 36-18 with six minutes left in the half. Although Holy Names got to within eight twice in the closing minutes, it seemed the 'Swords still were in control of the game with a 10-point halftime edge.
However the 'Swords put all doubts away when they opened the second half on a 19-6 run to grab a 64-41 lead five minutes in and led by as many as 26.
The 'Swords shot a season-high 53.8 percent (35-of-65) from the floor and made 11 triples, their most in over a month. They also pulled down 34 boards and had 14 assists with 14 turnovers.
Holy Names was held to 46.6 percent from the floor with eight 3-pointers. They pulled down 29 rebounds with 11 assists and committed 17 giveaways.
The Silveswords, who evened their current five-game road trip at 2-2, will conclude their journey Thursday at Notre Dame de Namur.
