HONOLULU – Back in the late 1970s through the 1980s, the rivalry between the Chaminade University and University of Hawai'i Hilo men's basketball teams was perhaps the best rivalry among the state's NAIA teams.
So with legendary Chaminade head coach Merv Lopes in attendance at McCabe Gymnasium on Saturday, a day after he and the 1982-83 men's basketball team, represented by Tony Randolph, were honored with a new Hall of Fame display, it was fitting that their opponent was UH Hilo.
Like so many of those battles over four decades ago with Lopes on one side and his rival Jimmy Yagi on the other, the latest chapter of the storied series between the Silverswords and Vulcans fittingly went down to the final possession.
Four 'Swords hit double-digits in the scoring ledger but couldn't get the tying shot to fall in the waning seconds as UH Hilo pulled out an 87-84 win.
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS) had a team-high 16 points in the loss as the Silveswords, who were playing in McCabe Gym for the first time this season, fell to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Pacific West Conference.
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) and
Scott Ator (Murphy, Texas/College of the Sequoias/Wylie HS) added 14 each with
Raazhel Watkins (Concord, Calif./Sacramento State/College Park HS) contributing with 12.
Carlos Ramsey Jr. had a game-high 20 points for UH Hilo (4-1, 2-0 PacWest).
Jalen Brattain (Shallowater, Texas/Lubbock Christian Univ./Shallowater HS) had nine points while he and
Braden Olsen (West Linn, Ore./Gannon University/West Linn HS) pulled down six rebounds. Olsen also provided eight points and six assists.
Chaminade had all the momentum in the game's early stages, as Reeves and Amaral-Artharee combined for 13 of their 27 points in the game's first 11 minutes. Reeves' layup with 8:38 left in the half gave the 'Swords a 27-12 cushion, their largest lead of the game.
UH Hilo would cut the deficit to seven with three minutes left before 3-pointers by
Dorian Harris (Cerritos, Calif./Cerritos College/Cerritos HS) and
Chris Bready (Milwaukee, Wis./New Mexico Military Institute/Waukesha West HS) would help the 'Swords own a 39-29 halftime lead.
On the Vulcans' opening possession of the second half, Darren Williams, who went scoreless in the first 20 minutes, got on the board with a 3-pointer. That proved to be an ominous sign for the Silverswords.
As Chaminade saw its lead dwindle in the second half, Williams struck from beyond the arc at critical moments. Williams made three consecutive triples midway in the second half, turning the 'Swords' 53-51 lead into a 60-56 deficit in a span of a minute and 14 seconds. Reeves and Amaral-Artharee counted with consecutive 3-pointers to put Chaminade up, 68-65, with 7:25 left.
But Drew Yezbak hit UH Hilo's sixth 3-pointer of the second half on the ensuing possession giving them the lead for good with 7:03 remaining. Chaminade managed to stay within a point twice in the final two minutes but Williams drilled his fifth and final 3 with 41 seconds left to put the Vulcans up by four. After two Amaral-Artharee free throws to make it a two-point margin, the 'Swords could not capitalize on two missed Vulcans foul shots of their own, turning it over with 11 seconds left followed by a potential game-tying triple being blocked to preserve UH Hilo's win.
The 'Swords shot 50.8 percent from the floor and made 11 of their 21 tries from downtown with 37 rebounds and 19 assists. They also had seven blocks with Ator getting four.
The Vulcans, who have won seven of the last eight meetings dating back to January 2021, shot 49.3 percent from the field but their blistering second half was the difference. UH Hilo was 22-of-34 in the final 20 minutes (64.7 percent) and made eight of its nine shots from long range. Williams made all five of his second-half triples with all of his 17 points coming in the second half. UH Hilo also had 34 boards and 11 assists with just six giveaways.
The Silverswords make their first regular season mainland trip of the season as they head to the conference's Northern California region. They open the trip Saturday against Academy of Art at the Walter Gleason Gym on the Notre Dame de Namur campus. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Hawai'i time.
