HONOLULU – After showing a lot of fighting spirit in their first two Allstate Maui Invitational games, the Chaminade University men's basketball team could not produce the same kind of rally magic against No. 1 Kansas and No. 24 UCLA, dropping a 105-56 decision to Syracuse in the seventh-place game at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS) had a game-high 13 points while
Jamir Thomas (Berkeley, Calif./City College of San Francisco/Berkeley HS) added 12 more and three rebounds as the Silverswords suffered their worst loss in the Allstate Maui Invitational's third day and second-worst overall.
Scott Ator (Murphy, Texas/College of the Sequoias/Wylie HS) and
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) added seven points each for Chaminade (1-5). Ator dished out five assists while
Wyatt Lowell (Gilbert, Ariz./University of Portland/William Fields HS) had eight points. Chaminade's previous largest margin of defeat on the final day was 48 to Kansas in 2005.
Chris Bell had a game-high 18 points for the Orange (4-2) who shot 56.4 percent from the field as Chaminade fell to 0-17 all-time against ACC opponents.
The 'Swords encountered problems with Syracuse's length and athleticism, shooting just 16.7 percent from the field in the first half and 30 percent in the game.
Lowell's triple on Chaminade's opening possession gave them their first lead in the tournament at 3-2. But it proved to be short-lived as the Cuse went on a 12-0 run to take a 14-3 lead. The 'Swords continued to struggle with their shot as they also could not counter Orange 7-foot-4 center Naheem McLeod who had 11 points, seven rebounds and a block. As a team, the Orange had just three blocks but their size forced them to just 6-of-36 first-half shooting as they faced a 52-18 hole at halftime.
Chaminade opened the second half with six quick points on layups by Reeves and Lowell to cut the deficit under 30 at 52-24. But the rally was extinguished when the Orange scored 15 of the game's next 17 points to hand the 'Swords their ninth straight Invitational loss.
The 'Swords were out-rebounded 55-to-30 and made seven 3-pointers to the Cuse's 12. There were just 18 combined fouls and 15 total free throw attempts.
The Silverswords return to Division II competition on Monday when they face Slippery Rock University. Tipoff at McCabe Gymnasium is set for 5 p.m.
