HONOLULU – Having seen five Pacific West Conference losses by three points or less this season, including four coming on the final possession, one would think the odds for the Chaminade University men's basketball team would, at some point, even out.
On Tuesday, their late-game misfortunes turned in dramatic fashion.
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) drilled a corner 3-pointer as time expired to give the Silverswords a stunning 98-95 win over Academy of Art at McCabe Gymnasium. It was the redshirt junior guard's fifth triple of the game, part of his 24 points on the evening.
The winner was set up by
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS), who had a game-high 30 points, and the assist to set up Amaral-Artharee's heroics.
The victory improved the 'Swords to 8-9 on the season and 3-6 in the PacWest, avenging their 74-71 loss to ART U in the season's first meeting last month in Belmont, California.
More importantly, it keeps the Silverswords within striking distance of the sixth and final spot in the PacWest Tournament, which will be played at their home floor at McCabe Gym in early March. Chaminade is just two games behind the Urban Knights and Dominican University of California, who currently occupy the fifth and sixth spots.
Braden Olsen (West Linn, Ore./Gannon University/West Linn HS) added 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while
Jalen Brattain (Shallowater, Texas/Lubbock Christian Univ./Shallowater HS) contributed with 10 points.
Deang Deang paced ART U (10-6, 5-4 PacWest) with 17 points.
Neither squad was able to make a significant run in the first 10 minutes of the opening half with the Urban Knights holding the largest lead at four. With Chaminade keeping a 23-22 edge, Brattain buried a triple followed by a layup on their next possession which was part of a 10-2 run to give CUH a 33-24 advantage with 7:08 left in the first half. The 'Swords led 45-40 at halftime.
Amaral-Artharee's layup three minutes into the second half pushed Chaminade's lead back to nine at 55-46. However, ART U responded on a 15-2 surge to put the visitors up, 61-57, and eventually built their lead to 84-76 with six minutes remaining.
But Reeves accounted for five points as the 'Swords countered with an 11-2 run to retake the lead at 87-86 with 3:53 left. From there, there were three ties and four lead changes with Reeves draining his fifth 3-pointer with 1:15 remaining to put Chaminade up, 94-93. ART U's Klay Brown then hit two clutch free throws with 30 seconds left to square the game at 95, setting up the game's dramatic conclusion.
With time winding down, Olsen got the ball to Reeves at the top of the key, drawing in two defenders along the left wing. Reeves then fired a pass to an open Amaral-Artharee in the left corner who found nothing but net as the buzzer sounded, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
Chaminade shot 47.7 percent from the field, made 13-of-32 from 3-point range and 23-of-28 free throws with 36 rebounds and 19 assists. Reeves had four, including his game-winning dime, as well as
Raazhel Watkins (Concord, Calif./Sacramento State/College Park HS), who added seven points and five boards.
Chris Bready (Milwaukee, Wis./New Mexico Military Institute/Waukesha West HS) also had seven points for Chaminade.
ART U finished with a 44.6 shooting clip and was 8-of-22 from long distance while making 21 of its 25 trips to the charity stripe. The Urban Knights hauled in 42 boards and had 13 assists with 11 steals, four by Deang.
The Silverswords' six-game PacWest home stand continues Friday when they face Dominican at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
