AZUSA, Calif. – For the better part of two weeks, the Chaminade University men's basketball team was down two key starters towards the ending of the regular season.
But they didn't miss a beat with convincing wins over island rivals Hawai'i Pacific University and the University of Hawai'i Hilo.
On Thursday, the Silverswords welcomed one of them back and he made his return known and then some.
Andre Arissol (Northampton, England/Otero JC/Charnwood HS) buried a career-high seven 3-pointers en-route to a game- and career-high-tying 24 points to lead Chaminade to a 90-64 rout of Academy of Art in the first round of the Pacific West Conference Men's Basketball Championships at the Felix Event Center on the Azusa Pacific campus.
The third-seeded Silverswords (18-10) used a 48-27 second half to advance to Friday's semifinals where they face No. 2 seed Point Loma (22-6). It is the 'Swords' fifth appearance in the semis since the tournament began in 2013 and a PacWest-record eighth all-time win in the tournament.
Arissol, who missed Chaminade's final two regular season games after returning to his native England due to a family emergency, was 7-of-11 from long distance and helped the 'Swords hit a season-high 15 triples on 29 tries.
"We're the type of team that if you take away the drives, it opens stuff up on the perimeter," 'Swords head coach
Eric Bovaird said. "(Our dribble penetrators) did a great job of finding other people and knocking down shots. We hit a bunch of 3s because they made a bunch of great decisions."
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic), who just 24 hours after being named the PacWest Freshman of the Year, showed his selection was worthy with 16 points on the night.
Bill Awet (Sydney, Australia/SIU Edwardsville/Victory Rock Prep, Fla., HS) contributed with 15 points and had a perfect shooting night, making all five of his shots including both 3-pointers, and going 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
Eliet Donley (Yokosuka, Japan/Hayfield, Va., HS) also had 15 for the 'Swords along with six rebounds.
Kendall Small (Lakewood, Calif./Pacific/Mayfair HS), the conference's Defender of the Year, showed off his offensive prowess as well, tallying 12 points while dishing out 10 assists. He also had six boards and had two steals, extending his steals streak to 20 games. Small has a theft in 27 of 28 contests this season.
Kevin Kremer (Chico, Calif./Utah/Pleasant Valley HS) pulled down a team-high nine rebounds for the 'Swords.
Josh Hill had 23 points and 14 rebounds for an Academy of Art squad that was as dangerous as any in the tournament, having won seven of its previous 10 contests while overtaking both UH Hilo and HPU for the conference's final playoff bid during the final two weeks. The Urban Knights ended their season at 12-18.
Chaminade has averaged 90 points in its last three games – all victories – despite not having
Tyler Cartaino (Newbury Park, Calif./Newbury Park), an All-PacWest First Team selection and the conference's leading scorer at 20.8 points per game, due to an injury suffered on Feb. 15 at Concordia Irvine.
"Tyler was a huge part of our team," Bovaird said. "I'm a little biased but I think he's the best player in the league. We needed guys to step up. A guy like (Awet) who hasn't started a majority of the year and the next thing you know, he's thrown into the starting lineup.
"Everybody needed to pick up their game a little bit," he continued. "We try to be 'next man up.' Unfortunately I wish we had Tyler but guys really did step up."
Early on, ART U showed just how formidable they could be, racing out to a 21-15 lead at the first half's midway point. The 'Swords came roaring back thanks to Amaral-Artharee who accounted for all seven of Chaminade's points to help put the royal blue and white ahead. ART U eventually tied it at 29 with 4:25 remaining but the Silverswords outscored the Urban Knights, 14-7, the rest of the half and to take a 43-36 advantage into the locker room.
The end of halftime turned into the Awet Show. The 6-foot-8 junior forward scored the first eight points of the second half to propel the 'Swords on an 11-2 run to put them ahead 54-38. A Stefan Milivojevic 3-ball would bring Academy of Art to within 12 (56-44) at the 15-minute mark but the 'Swords would apply a backbreaking 11-0 run which expanded their edge to 67-44 with 12:45 left. Chaminade's lead would never be less than 18 the rest of the way.
Along with a 49.2 shooting percentage and a 51.7 percentage from 3-point range, the 'Swords made 15-of-19 free throws despite being out-rebounded 38-29. They also forced 17 Urban Knight turnovers while committing just 11 and had 12 steals, led by three from Awet.
Looking to Friday's matchup, the Silverswords and Sea Lions split the regular season series with each winning on each other's home floor. It will also be the first-ever postseason meeting between the two teams. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. Hawai'i time (5 p.m. Pacific).
