HONOLULU – Having battled from behind all season to earn a coveted spot in the 2023 Pacific West Conference Championships, the Chaminade University men's basketball team accomplished just that, earning the sixth and final berth.
Having the championships at home at McCabe Gymnasium – the first time a conference basketball championship tournament was held in Hawai'i at any level – it was a prime opportunity for the 'Swords to make some noise.
However, the Silverswords ran into an Academy of Art squad that was hungry to defend the PacWest Tournament title they captured in 2022.
Chaminade, playing for the first time since Feb. 15, could not find a second-half rhythm as they fell, 93-69, in the PacWest's first quarterfinal game. The Urban Knights used a 24-9 run to begin the second half to bring the 'Swords' season to a close.
Jalen Brattain (Shallowater, Texas/Lubbock Christian Univ./Shallowater HS) led the Silverswords with 20 points, hitting 7-of-11 shots including three 3-pointers.
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS) added 17 points while
Braden Olsen (West Linn, Ore./Gannon University/West Linn HS) contributed with 14 points in the final game in his only season in a Chaminade uniform.
Raazhel Watkins (Concord, Calif./Sacramento State/College Park HS) had nine points and four rebounds in his final game as a 'Sword.
Chaminade saw its season end at 14-15.
Latrell Williams and Will Balata each had 20 for the Urban Knights who improved to 21-8 and advanced to a PacWest semifinal where they will face No. 2 seed Azusa Pacific on Friday.
Ultimately, the 'Swords were done in by being out-rebounded 48-to-25, out-scored 60-to-28 in the paint and 24-to-2 in second-chance points.
A cold start from 3-point range resulted in the Silverswords finding themselves down by a 24-17 count in the first 10 minutes of the first half. Chaminade was just 2-for-10 from long range while ART U was more selective from long range, taking six, making four. Brown was especially on target, hitting 5-of-6 from the field including all three triples for 13 points.
But Reeves helped the 'Swords close to within 30-26 with a triple and pull-up jumper with eight minutes left in the half. However, the Urban Knights ran off 10 of the next 14 points for a 40-30 edge, their first double-digit lead of the game.
With a minute left, the Urban Knights built their lead to 49-36, their largest of the half. Brattain's triple followed by Olsen's layup with no defenders in his way right before the half narrowed their deficit to 49-41 at halftime.
But ART U came out hot to start the second half, going on a 15-6 run to start the second half, including knocking down all three of its triples, for a 64-47 lead. The Urban Knights eventually pushed their lead to 23 (75-52), a deficit Chaminade was never able to recover from.
The Silverswords shot 38.5 percent from the floor but were just 8-of-31 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, ART U shot at a 55.6 percent clip and made 8-of-17 from long distance. Academy of Art committed 13 turnovers while CUH had just nine.
Aside from Olsen and Watkins,
Kobe Young (Honolulu/Kamehameha-Kapalama) also played in final game in a Silversword uniform, scoring four points in seven minutes of action.
In addition to the ART U-Azusa Pacific matchup, the PacWest Men's Championships continue Friday with No. 1 seed Point Loma facing the Hawai'i Hilo-Biola victor.
The women's semifinals has top seed APU meeting fifth-seeded Point Loma while No. 2 seed Dominican meets Concordia University Irvine.
The tournament concludes Saturday with the women's title tilt at 2 p.m. followed by the men's championship at 4:30 p.m. The winners receive the PacWest's automatic berth into the NCAA West Regional.
