HONOLULU – The last three games for Chaminade University men's basketball have had fans on their edge of their seats.
- Jan. 4; a quadruple-overtime thriller against Biola.
- Jan. 6; a one-point win versus Fresno Pacific.
- Jan. 8; a two-point loss to Point Loma.
In each case, the outcome was decided in the final 10 seconds or on the final possession of the game.
On Saturday, however, any drama was removed early as the Silverswords built a first-half double-digit lead and never looked back in their 75-52 win over Notre Dame de Namur at McCabe Gymnasium.
Freshman guard
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) hit five 3-pointers en-route to a season-high 17 points while
Tyler Cartaino (Newbur Park, Calif./Newbury Park) recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds to help the Silverswords improve to 8-6 overall and 6-3 in the Pacific West Conference.
Eliet Donley (Yokosuka, Japan/Hayfield, Va., HS) added 10 points and six boards while
Bill Awet (Sydney, Australia/SIU Edwardsville/Victory Rock Prep, Fla.) added nine points for the 'Swords.
Kendall Small (Lakewood, Calif./Pacific/Mayfair HS), who tallied a triple-double in the Silverswords' last encounter against the Argonauts last month in Belmont, Calif., nearly achieved the feat again with nine points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Andre Arissol (Northampton, England/Otero JC/Charnwood HS) had eight points with
Roman Young (Wichita, Kan./Mineral Area College/Sunrise Christian Academy) contributing six. Nine of the 10 'Swords who got into the game had at least one field goal.
NDNU, which fell to 2-14 and 1-8 in the conference, was paced by Cameron Fisher's 16 points.
While the 'Swords did not shoot particularly well (41.4 percent from the floor), they held the Argos to a 38.8 percent clip and just 5-of-20 from 3-point country. They also forced 23 NDNU turnovers, the second-highest in
Eric Bovaird's tenure as head coach and the most since Feb. 2015.
Chaminade also controlled the glass, 42-31, and had 18 assists to NDNU's five and made 12-of-33 shots from beyond the arc.
NDNU rallied from down 5-0 early on and managed to take a 12-9 lead on a 3 by Fisher at the 13:30 mark. Less than two minutes later, Young swished a triple to not only put the 'Swords ahead for good but also trigged a 28-7 run over the nine minutes.
During the surge, Amaral-Artharee and Young each had six points each while Awet had all nine of his including an alley-oop jam from Small and another transition flush off a Small's wicked 25-foot bounce pass. Awet capped the run by burying a triple from the left wing which put Chaminade up 39-18 with 3:11 left in the first half.
NDNU never got closer than 16 which came three minutes into the second half before the 'Swords responded with a 10-1 run erase any hope of an Argos comeback.
The Silverswords will wrap up their five-game home stand on Monday when they host Dominican. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Hawai'i Pacific Health is the game sponsor and fans are encouraged to wear pink.
