HONOLULU – Fresh off the usual gauntlet of NCAA Division I powerhouses at the Allstate Maui Invitational, the Chaminade University men's basketball on Monday returned to Division II action, almost literally scratching and clawing their way to a 75-67 non-conference win against Slippery Rock University at McCabe Gymnasium.
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic), who struggled in his games against No. 1 Kansas, No. 24 UCLA and Syracuse last week, came back with a vengeance, pouring in a game-high 24 points. The sixth-year redshirt senior also dished out a career-high-tying six assists while
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS) added another 16 points and eight dimes as the 'Swords (2-5) snapped their four-game losing streak.
Scott Ator (Murphy, Texas/College of the Sequoias/Wylie HS) posted 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks while forward
Kelton Samore (Portland, Ore./Seattle Pacific University/Grant HS), playing in his first game since suffering an injury early in the Nov. 10 opener against Alaska Anchorage, added another 12 points and five boards.
Lashon Lindsey and Sheick Samoura each had 13 points for Slippery Rock (1-3) from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Monday's matchup was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The 'Swords found themselves locked in a very physical contest from the get-go with the Rock pulling in 11 offensive boards in the first half, resulting in a 14-4 advantage in second-chance points. Chaminade never led in the first 20 minutes, trailing by as many as eight midway through. The 'Swords would post ties at 27-27 on a Reeves fast-break layup off a steal then
Chris Bready (Milwaukee, Wis./New Mexico Military Institute/Waukesha West HS) knotted the game at 31 with a foul-line jumper at the halftime buzzer.
Ator gave CUH its first lead of the game on a driving layup on the first possession of the second half, which was followed by buckets from Samore and Reeves as part of a 6-0 run.
After the Rock took a 43-41 lead five minutes, Chaminade ran off nine straight, capped by a
Brycen Shackelford (Folsom, Calif./Folsom) layup, which put them up, 50-43. Samoura converted a four-point play which narrowed their lead to 54-51 with 8:09 left, but Amaral-Artharee buried a 3-pointer which began another 9-0 run to give the 'Swords their largest lead at 63-51 with 4:39 remaining.
The Rock closed to within 63-59 with 2:42 left but Amaral-Arthraee scored 10 points including a pair of clutch triples during the 'Swords' clinching 12-4 surge to rebuild their lead back to 75-63.
Chaminade hit 43.3 percent of its shots while Slippery Rock made 36.6. Both team made seven 3-pointers and, despite the physicality of the contest, there were just 23 combined free throws with the 'Swords taking 14, making 10. After getting hammered on the offensive glass in the first 20 minutes, Chaminade allowed just six SRU offensive boards in the second half and was slightly out-rebounded, 43-to-41, in the game.
The 'Swords also dropped 19 dimes with 11 turnovers while the Rock had 10 assists, 13 giveaways and seven blocked shots.
The Silverswords will resume conference action Thursday when they host Pacific West Conference newcomer Westmont College at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
