HONOLULU – The Chaminade University men's basketball team opened what could very well be their most important Pacific West Conference home stand Thursday with a 77-51 victory over Concordia University Irvine at McCabe Gymnasium.
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the second half as the Silverswords picked up a much-needed conference win to improve to 7-8 overall and 2-5 in the PacWest.
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS) added 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in the win.
Braden Olsen (West Linn, Ore./Gannon University/West Linn HS) contributed with 10 points, seven assists and six boards.
A decisive win to kick-start a six consecutive PacWest games at home was welcome relief for the 'Swords, who suffered four one-possession conference defeats by a combined eight points in December.
Chris Bready (Milwaukee, Wis./New Mexico Military Institute/Waukesha West HS) provided seven points off the bench for Chaminade while
Raazhel Watkins (Concord, Calif./Sacramento State/College Park HS) had five points, five boards and four assists.
Bryce Fitzgerald led the Golden Eagles (4-9 overall, 3-5 PacWest) with 13 points.
After three ties and six lead changes over the game's first eight minutes, Reeves knocked down a triple, the start of an 11-3 run, which put the 'Swords up 14-11, a lead they would never relinquish. Chaminade led by as many as 11 late in the first half but could not get a sizeable run to build on it.
However, they held CUI to just 18 points in the first 20 minutes, including seven made field goals and a 29 percent shooting percentage.
Amaral-Artharee had eight points during a 10-0 run to open the second half which gave Chaminade a 38-18 edge. He continued his hot hand with a triple, a pull-up jumper then converted another three-point play with 9:06 remaining which gave him his seventh 20-point game of the season.
And while Concordia made its share of baskets in the second half, the 'Swords would have answers. Reeves' second 3-pointer of the game at the 8:09 mark gave Chaminade a 20-point edge which they maintained for the remainder of the contest.
The 'Swords shot 53.4 percent in the game, 59.4 (19-of-32) in the second half which included a 7-of-9 performance beyond the arc. They also made all six of their free throws while pulling down 32 rebounds, dishing out 17 assists to 10 turnovers and 10 steals.
The Eagles made just 17-of-51 shots and were 6-of-23 from long range and 11-of-19 from the charity stripe. CUI had 33 boards and committed 17 turnovers which Chaminade converted to 16 points.
The Silverswords will host conference-leading Point Loma (13-3) who are 8-0 in the PacWest after defeating both Hawai'i Hilo and Hawai'i Pacific on their island road trip. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
