CINCINNATI – The Chaminade University men's basketball team wrapped up their Midwest road trip Monday with a 98-55 defeat to the University of Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena.
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) led the Silverswords with 16 points.
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS) and
Raazhel Watkins (Concord, Calif./Sacramento State/College Park HS) and
Jalen Brattain (Shallowater, Texas/Lubbock Christian Univ./Shallowater HS) each added nine while Reeves pulled down a team-best seven boards for the 'Swords.
The game concluded Chaminade's three-game exhibition series in the agreement with the Maui Jim Maui Invitational where they play tournament participants in their own venues every even year.
Cincinnati shot 57.8 percent from the field but barely missed in the first half while Chaminade was held to 38.9. For the first time on the trip, the 'Swords were not only out-rebounded by double digits, 41-to-24, but for the first time on the trip lost the offensive boards count, 11-to-5.
David Dejulius, a Michigan transfer, led all scorers with 24 points.
The contest was Cincinnati's regular season opener as is for all Division I programs. Chaminade fell to 0-3 in the exhibition. However their won-loss record nor statistics do not count.
The Bearcats started the game on fire, making their first six field goal tries including four 3-pointers. At the second media timeout, they were 11-of-13 from the floor with still no misses beyond the arc, leading 27-10 at the 11:01 mark.
At the end of the first 20 minutes, Cincinnati shot at a 71.4 percent clip, making 20-of-28 shots for a 54-28 lead. After struggling to get shots to drop early, the 'Swords managed to find the bottom of the net midway through the half, with Reeves building a pair of triples while Amaral-Artharee and Watkins combined for the team's final eight points.
The 'Swords scored the first five points of the second half on a layup from
Scott Ator (Murphy, Texas/College of the Sequoias/Wylie HS) and a 3 by Amaral-Artharee. But the Bearcats countered with the next eight points to help Cincinnati continue to widen the margin.
After their blistering first-half shooting, the law of averages seemed to catch up to the Bearcats in the final 20 minutes with a 47.2 second-half field goal percentage. After a 6-for-10 performance from 3-point territory in the first half, they were just 4-for-15 in the second.
The 'Swords had 10 assists but 24 turnovers led to 30 UC points. They were also outscored, 50-22 in the paint. Chaminade, which struggled from 3-point range against Ohio State and Louisville, was a respectable 7-of-21 against the Bearcats. Reeves had three of their treys.
The Silverswords open the regular season Friday against Alaska Anchorage in the PacWest/GNAC Challenge at the Hawai'i Pacific University's Shark Tank. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m.
