IRVINE, Calif. – The Chaminade University men's basketball team on Wednesday got a much-needed road win at a building where they have historically struggled.
Jalen Brattain (Shallowater, Texas/Lubbock Christian Univ./Shallowater HS) came off the bench to pour in 21 points, hitting 9-of-14 shots including 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range to help the Silverswords snap their four-game losing streak with an 81-69 wire-to-wire win over Concordia University Irvine at CU Arena.
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS) added 14 points as Chaminade improved to 11-13 overall and 6-10 in the Pacific West Conference. The victory put them 1 ½ games behind Dominican University of California (7-8) for the sixth and final spot of the PacWest Tournament with four games remaining in the regular season. The tournament will be held at Chaminade's home floor of McCabe Gym from March 2-4.
For the Silverswords, it was their first-ever win at CU Arena, having lost all five games in the venue since CUI joined the conference in 2015. Entering Wednesday, Chaminade was 0-6 lifetime against the Golden Eagles on the mainland, including a neutral site loss at the 2019 PacWest Tournament.
Braden Olsen (West Linn, Ore./Gannon University/West Linn HS) and
Scott Ator (Murphy, Texas/College of the Sequoias/Wylie HS) each added 11 points for Chaminade while
Raazhel Watkins (Concord, Calif./Sacramento State/College Park HS) chipped in with 10 and a team-high eight rebounds and four assists.
Bryce Fitzgerald led Concordia (4-14, 3-10 PacWest) with 17 points.
Ator scored five points while Watkins and
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) added jumpers as Chaminade opened up a 9-2 in the game's first three-and-a-half minutes. A triple from Olsen at the 12:01 mark gave the 'Swords their first double-digit lead at 20-9 which later swelled to 38-24 late in the first half. CUI made a run at the end to chop their deficit to 40-32 at halftime.
Early in the second half, the Golden Eagles scored six straight, closing to within 48-44 with 16:30 remaining. But CUH responded by scoring on three straight possessions with 3-pointers from Reeves and Brattain followed by a Watkins layup, upping their lead back to 12. CUI would later get to within 58-51 midway through the second half but Chaminade again had an answer with a Watkins layup and a jumper from
Chris Bready (Milwaukee, Wis./New Mexico Military Institute/Waukesha West HS).
Concordia got within single digits one final time (66-57) but buckets from Reeves and a triple from Bready helped defuse all hopes of a CUI rally.
The 'Swords shot 47.4 percent from the floor, made 8-of-20 triples and 19-of-24 from the charity stripe. They pulled down 38 rebounds and had 12 assists.
CUI shot 47.3 percent from the field with 8-of-23 shooting from long range and made 9-of-15 free throws. Chaminade held Concordia to just 23 rebounds, the fewest they have allowed since allowing 21 to Dominican in January 2020. The Golden Eagles also had just two offensive rebounds, the fewest since Point Loma also had two in February 2019.
With the Southern California stretch of their road trip complete, the Silverswords will make the drive north to the Central Valley where they play their final game on the mainland Saturday at Fresno Pacific. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. Hawai'i time.
