HONOLULU – The troubles for the Chaminade University men's basketball team and their close shaves this season are too well-documented.
Just three days after a heart-wrenching overtime home loss to Dominican, which was their third final possession defeat this season, the Silverswords had another down-to-the-wire finish in Thursday's rivalry matchup against Hawai'i Pacific University in yet another near full house at McCabe Gymnasium.
This time, the breaks went their way.
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS) had 20 points including a clutch basket with less than seven seconds left and HPU's last-gasp tying 3-pointer was off the mark to give Chaminade the 71-68 win over their longtime rivals in front of an estimated 236 in attendance.
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) added 17 points, giving him 1,600 in his career, moving him into a tie for third in the all-time scoring list with Kuany Kuany.
Jamir Thomas (Berkeley, Calif./City College of San Francisco/Berkeley HS) added another nine while
Scott Ator (Murphy, Texas/College of the Sequoias/Wylie HS) and
Wyatt Lowell (Gilbert, Ariz./University of Portland/William Fields HS) had eight each. Ator also had a team-high seven rebounds while Reeves dished out four assists.
Kameron Ng (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Univ. of Hawai'i Hilo/Saint Francis HS), matched up against his younger brother, Kordel of HPU, added a season-high six points.
The win improved Chaminade to 7-13 and 3-9 in the Pacific West Conference. It was also their first win against five defeats this season in games decided by five points or less. The Silverswords also snapped a three-game home skid to the Sharks dating back to February 2021 when the season was shortened to 12 games. The visiting team had won the previous five matchups.
Maj Dusanic led HPU (9-6, 4-3 PacWest) with 17 points in the 115th all-time meeting between the two Honolulu-based programs. CUH leads the all-time series, 63-52. The 'Swords also held Melo Sanchez, the PacWest's seventh-leading scorer at 15.9 points per game entering Thursday, to seven points.
HPU owned a 32-30 lead late in the first half but Thomas drilled a triple that began a half-ending 10-1 run over the final three minutes to give Chaminade a 40-33 halftime edge.
Ator's layup with 3:20 remaining extended the 'Swords' lead to 69-59 left but the Sharks chipped away, culminating with a Diggy Winbush triple with 39 seconds left to chop their deficit to 69-68. On the ensuing CUH possession and with the shot clock winding down, Reeves pulled up for a seven-foot floater which hit the back of the rim and fell through with 6.5 seconds remaining, giving the Silverswords a 71-68 lead.
The Sharks had one last gasp where Winbush's 28-foot heave had the 'Swords and the McCabe crowd holding their collective breath as the shot made its downwards arc. However, the ball bounced off the left side of the rim to give Chaminade the badly needed win to stay relevant in the chase for March's PacWest Tournament in San Diego where the top six teams in the standings qualify.
The Silverswords shot 48.3 percent from the floor – their highest at home this season – and were 7-of-26 from the 3-point arc while making 8-of-10 free throws. They also had 30 rebounds and 14 assists.
HPU shot 36.5 percent from the field, was 6-for-19 from distance while also feasting at the charity stripe, making 24-of-26. The Sharks hauled in 30 rebounds with nine assists.
The game was relatively clean with just 12 combined turnovers, five by HPU.
The Silverswords return to action on Thursday, Jan. 25 against Azusa Pacific at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
