HONOLULU – For 34 minutes, the Chaminade University men's basketball team wasn't having a super day on Super Bowl Sunday.
Trailing for nearly three-quarters of the game, the Silverswords used an 18-8 run in the second half to rally from a double-digit deficit to score a 64-56 win over Holy Names University at McCabe Gymnasium.
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) had a game-high 16 points while
Jalen Brattain (Shallowater, Texas/Lubbock Christian Univ./Shallowater HS) added 14 points off the bench as the 'Swords survived an ugly 2-of-21 performance from behind the 3-point arc to improve to 13-14 on the season and 8-11 in the Pacific West Conference.
The win also put them a half-game ahead of Dominican University for the sixth and final spot in the PacWest Tournament which will be played at McCabe Gym in three weeks. The 'Swords have one game remaining while Dominican has two.
Braden Olsen (West Linn, Ore./Gannon University/West Linn HS) chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists for Chaminade.
Raazhel Watkins (Concord, Calif./Sacramento State/College Park HS) and
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS) contributed with 11 points each. Watkins also tied his career-high with nine rebounds.
Dale Currie led Holy Names (5-20, 2-15 PacWest) with 11 points in the final meeting between the two programs with Chaminade leading the all-time series, 17-3. The school will be closing its doors later this spring.
With an early tipoff time of 10 a.m. to accommodate the Super Bowl, the 'Swords looked like they were sleepwalking throughout the first half, trailing by as many as 27-17 with 4:48 left in the first half. A 10-2 run by the Silverswords drew them to within two but the Hawks scored the final five points of the half to assume a 34-27 halftime lead. Chaminade shot just 34.3 percent in the first 20 minutes and were 0-for-10 from beyond the arc.
For much of the second half, Holy Names would stay ahead on the scoreboard, answering each CUH rally. Trailing 42-36 with 13:41 left, the 'Swords finally put together a stretch where shots began to drop. Olsen drilled a triple, Brattain threw down a pair of dunks while Reeves scored seven points including the go-ahead layup which put Chaminade up, 51-50, its first lead since it was 8-6. Reeves' three-point play made it 54-50 at the 5:08 mark.
Amaral-Artharee and Watkins each added layups and the 'Swords made all six free throws towards the end to seal the victory.
Chaminade shot 41.2 percent in the second half and held Holy Names to a mere 8-of-32 shooting in the final 20 minutes. The Hawks hauled in 44 rebounds to Chaminade's 40. The 'Swords also forced 19 HNU turnovers while committing 12.
The Silverswords will finish the regular season Wednesday when they host Fresno Pacific at McCabe Gym. Three seniors – Olsen, Watkins and
Kobe Young (Honolulu/Kamehameha-Kapalama) – will be honored following the game.
