LAHAINA, Maui, Hawai'i – The Chaminade University men's basketball team Monday opened the Maui Jim Maui Invitational with a 93-63 loss to No. 4 Kansas.
Andre Arissol (Northampton, England/Otero JC/Charnwood HS) scored a team-high 18 points while
Tyler Cartaino (Newbury Park, Calif./Newbury Park) added 17 for the Silverswords, who suffered their first loss of the season to fall to 2-1.
Kendall Small (Lakewood, Calif./Pacific/Mayfair HS) had 10 for the 'Swords who committed 27 turnovers.
The Jayhawks (4-1), one of the storied programs in college basketball and ranked fourth in the Associated Press poll and fifth in the coaches poll, got 19 points from Devon Sotson and 15 from Udoka Azubuike.
Cartaino made 7 of 13 from the floor while Arissol hit four of the team's seven 3-pointers, hitting 6 of 9 shots including 4 of 6 from long range. Meanwhile Small had eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
The 'Swords, who returned to Maui after taking last year off, made 47.6 percent from the floor while KU hit 55.1.
The 'Swords scored on their first two possessions with a Cartaino bucket and an Arissol triple putting them up 5-0. But the Jayhawks' 20-2 run over the next seven minutes helped expand their lead to 17. Chaminade rallied with a 7-0 run capped by Cartaino's 3-pointer to bring them to 27-17, forcing KU to call timeout with seven minutes left in the half.
But the Jayhawks ended the half on a 20-10 run to lead 47-27 at the break. Chaminade committed 16 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. The 'Swords had just 18 combined entering Monday.
Smalls' putback opened the second half scoring but it was the closest the 'Swords would get as Kansas outscored Chaminade 14-6 over the next four minutes to end all hopes of their next great upset.
However the 'Swords kept battling and the deficit never completely out of hand. Chaminade, which lost by 51 to the Jayhawks in the last meeting in 2015, kept the deficit no higher than 35 towards the end.
Kobe Young (Honolulu/Kamehameha-Kapalama) got the Chaminade faithful thrilled, getting his first career basket with 1:38 left on a layup for an and-one opportunity.
Eliet Donley (Yokosuka, Japan/Hayfield, Va., HS) added six points while
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) put up five.
The 'Swords made 7-of-21 triples and 10 of 14 from the foul line. KU hit 12 3s but was just 5 of 11 from the free throw line. Despite the bigger and stronger Jayhawks out-pointing Chaminade 50-22 in the paint, the 'Swords were only out-rebounded 33-28.
The Silverswords face UCLA in the consolation bracket of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. with national television coverage on ESPNU.
