AZUSA, Calif. –
Grant Dressler (Las Vegas/Sacramento State/Palo Verde HS) hit a 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds remaining to lift the Chaminade University men's basketball team to a stunning 77-75 win over Azusa Pacific at the Felix Event Center on Tuesday.
The senior guard's game-winner highlighted the Silverswords' epic comeback after trailing by as many as 19 in the second half and helped to ease the disappointment of Saturday's overtime loss at No. 17 Point Loma.
The win not only improved Chaminade to 19-5 overall and 13-5 Pacific West Conference, it also clinched a spot in next month's PacWest Tournament for a third straight season. It also vaulted the 'Swords past Azusa Pacific (16-10, 13-6 PacWest) for third place in the conference with four games remaining. It also avenged a 16-point loss in Honolulu last month, Chaminade's worst defeat this season.
Dressler hit for 29 points in the contest, making 5-of-8 3-pointers and pulled down 11 rebounds, his second double-double of the year. He also had five assists and two steals.
Tyler Cartaino (Newbury Park, Calif./Newbury Park) had 22 points for Chaminade, his seventh consecutive 20-point contests. All of his points came in the second half after being effectively neutralized in the first 20 minutes.
Andre Arissol (Northampton, England/Otero JC/Charnwood HS) had nine points and five steals while
Erik Scheive (Marysville, Calif./Yuba College/Marysville) contributed with eight points.
Nicholas Anderson (Anaheim, Calif./Fullerton College/Canyon HS) dished out a team-high seven assists.
Azusa Pacific was led by Will Ferris' 23 points.
APU jumped out to a 12-2 early before Chaminade rallied on a 15-2 run with Dressler's triple giving the 'Swords their first lead of the game at the 12:14 mark. A half-ending 13-3 run by the Cougars gave them a 40-30 halftime lead.
Azusa Pacific continued to ride its momentum and twice built its lead to 19, the final coming at 60-41 with 12:03 remaining and it appeared that Chaminade was on its way to its second straight defeat in the tough SoCal region.
Three consecutive baskets from Anderson and Cartaino for a modest 6-0 run seemed to APU fans be innocent enough. However the real momentum changer came when Cougars' big man Selom Mawugbe picked up his fourth personal foul with 9:48 left, reducing him to spectator status.
With APU's shot-blocking extraordinaire sitting on the bench, the 'Swords made their move. Scheive and Cartaino each scored inside the lane to cut the deficit to single digits while Arissol hit a pair of back-to-back 3-balls and suddenly, APU's lead was down to 64-59 with 7:40 left.
Cartaino added yet another driving layup then
Eliet Donley (Yokosuka, Japan/Haywood, Va., HS) made a huge contribution, yanking down an offensive board and sticking the follow to bring the 'Swords to within a point at 64-63. On Azusa Pacific's next possession, Anderson swiped the ball away from Darien McClain and fired a one-handed pass to Dressler for an easy uncontested layup which put the 'Swords up 65-64 at the 5:41 mark, completing a stunning 24-4 surge over a six-minute span.
Mawugbe finally returned after Dressler's layup which seemed to have a calming effect with the Cougars re-taking the lead. But Chaminade hung around and was down 75-74 with two minutes remaining. After scoreless possessions on both sides, Mawugbe missed a jumper with 15 seconds left. Dressler grabbed the board, hurried down the court and pulled up from 22 feet, hitting nothing but net to put the 'Swords up 77-75.
APU had one final chance but McClain's potential game-winning 3 hit off the side of the rim and Mawugbe couldn't get off a shot down the left baseline to end the game to finish one of the largest comebacks in Chaminade history.
Although they were outshot percentage-wise (51.8-44.8) and were outrebounded 43-27, the 'Swords managed to force 21 APU turnovers while giving possession away just eight times. It lead to a gaudy 22-8 margin in points off turnovers. The Cougars had nine turnovers in the second half to just two for the 'Swords with points off turnovers 12-0 in favor of the visitors.
It was also Chaminade's first win at Azusa since January 2017 and its second victory in their last five road games in the Southern California region of the PacWest, which is widely considered as the conference's toughest region.
The Silverswords continue their road trip Thursday at Biola.
