HONOLULU – Mired in its longest losing streak in over five years, the Chaminade University men's basketball team finally rediscovered their winning ways Wednesday.
In a true team effort, six Silverswords hit the double-digit scoring ledger while 10 of them made at least one field goal in their 80-69 win, spoiling Senior Night for Hawai'i Pacific University at The Shark Tank.
That
Kevin Kremer (Chico, Calif./Utah/Pleasant Valley HS) and
Malik Parsons (San Diego/Wenatchee Valley CC/Lincoln HS) were two of three players who topped the 'Swords in the scoring ledger with 12 points was no surprise. But the other who did, in some respects, was.
Freshman forward
Patrick Renane (Havdrup, Denmak/Dublin, Calif.), who appeared in four games and totaled two points in 13 minutes this season, easily surpassed those totals with 12 points in 14 minutes of action against the Sharks, hitting 6-of-8 shots.
The win snapped Chaminade's five-game losing streak, the longest since the start of the 2015-16 season which included Division I foes Kansas, UNLV and St. John's in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, and improved them to 4-6 on the season.
Jessiya Villa (Martinsburg, W. Va./Hawai'i/Kahuku HS) added 11 points followed by
Sawyer Storms (Idaho Falls, Idaho/Southern Idaho/Idaho Falls HS) and
DeRay Seamster (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) for Chaminade which improved to 4-6 in the Pacific West Conference.
Roman Young (Wichita, Kan./Mineral Area College/Sunrise Christian Academy) returned after missing the two previous games with an injury and dished out a game-high six assists. Kremer led the 'Swords in the rebounding category with six.
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic), the team's leading scorer at nearly 15 points per game, was held to just four but attempted just seven shots as his teammates picked up the slack.
HPU ended its season 3-9 on the year. David Rowlands had a game-high 23 points including several late 3-pointers that would have been well past the NBA arc.
The 'Swords, who never trailed, bolted out to a 16-point lead in the first half, thanks to Seamster, who had five points, and Renane four during a 17-7 run. The Sharks rallied to chop the deficit to 32-24 with just over four minutes left in the half before the 'Swords re-established a double-digit lead. Rowlands, however, hit a triple to beat the halftime buzzer to cut Chaminade's lead to 41-32.
Rowland's shot seemed to help sway the momentum with HPU cutting the deficit to 43-38 in the opening minutes of the second half. But Chaminade stole the momentum right back. Storms drilled a left-wing 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to begin an 11-0 run during a 3-minute, 19-second span, giving the 'Swords a 64-44 cushion with 8:47 remaining.
Their lead swelled to as many as 26 late after which Rowlands, one of the four HPU seniors, began a bombing run by taking shots easily surpassing 27 feet in the final minutes, well after the outcome was decided.
Chaminade made 50.7 percent of its field goal tries and demonstrated patience in offensive execution, attempting a season-low 15 3-pointers. The defense held the Sharks to 41.7 percent shooting from the field, although they were outrebounded, 37-31.
The 'Swords also took care of the ball, turning it over just seven times while forcing 23 HPU turnovers. They also outscored the Sharks by a staggering 29-2 in points off turnovers, which the Sharks' only score off a CUH giveaway came with 5 seconds left to play.
Chaminade returns home Friday with a chance to play the role of spoiler when the University of Hawai'i Hilo visits McCabe Gymnasium for the final two games of the season. UH Hilo is currently ranked No. 7 in the West Region and will likely need to win both to sneak into the sixth spot when the NCAA Division II Tournament field is announced Sunday night.
Friday's tipoff is set for 5 p.m.
