HONOLULU – Fresh off three excruciating losses at their recent Pacific West Conference Northern California road trip, the Chaminade University men's basketball team on Saturday returned to O'ahu in the opener of the Hoops in Hawai'i Holiday Classic presented by Outrigger Resorts and Hotels.
The return home was exactly what the Silverswords needed, pulling away from St. Edward's, 84-70, at the Hawai'i Convention Center.
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) led a parade of five 'Swords in double-digits with 21 points to help them snap their four-game losing streak.
The redshirt junior made three 3-pointers and all six of his free throws as Chaminade improved to 4-6 on the season.
Braden Olsen (West Linn, Ore./Gannon University/West Linn HS) added 14 points and dished out a season-high 11 assists – one off the career high he set at Gannon University in January 2021 – with six rebounds.
Raazhel Watkins (Concord, Calif./Sacramento State/College Park HS) added 13 points as did
Jalen Brattain (Shallowater, Texas/Lubbock Christian Univ./Shallowater HS), who also pulled down 10 rebounds off the bench for his first double-double of the season.
Scott Ator (Murphy, Texas/College of the Sequoias/Wylie HS) contributed with 10 points and four blocks.
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS) added nine points for the 'Swords while Amaral-Artharee had seven boards.
Uche Dibiamaka had 15 points for the Hilltoppers who saw their nine-game winning streak snapped, falling to 9-2.
A layup from
Jessiya Villa (Laurel, Md./University of Hawai'i/Kahuku HS, Hawai'i) help Chaminade score seven straight points to help give them a 22-13 edge midway through the first half. But after the Hilltoppers went on a run of their own to take a 27-26 lead, a Watkins triple triggered a 17-3 'Swords run to end the first half. He and Amaral-Arthree accounted for all of Chaminade's points during the surge, holding St. Edward's without a basketball in the final eight minutes.
The Silverswords' lead swelled to as many as 21 after Brattain's layup with 12:41 left in the game. However, two of the past four defeats have been after the 'Swords led by double digits. And it appeared the trend would continue as an 11-0 run by the Hilltoppers brought them to within 69-59.
But an old-school three-point play by Reeves followed by Ator's layup on Olsen's 11th and final assist of the game would help Chaminade tally the next seven points to push the lead back to 17. St. Edward's would get no closer than 13 the rest of the way.
Chaminade made 49.3 percent of its shots and despite making just four triples, all coming in the first half, amassed 50 points in the paint. The rebounding was even at 42 each with the 'Swords dishing out 16 assists to the Hilltoppers' 14.
The Silverswords will face nationally-ranked Saint Martin's in Sunday's second day of the Hoops in Hawai'i Holiday Classic with tipoff at 5:45 p.m.
