IRVINE, Calif. – The Chaminade University men's basketball team needed this one in the worst way.
After building a significant lead in the second half, they nearly gave it away.
The Silverswords, who were in danger of sinking even further down the Pacific West Conference standings, rebounded from Tuesday's gut-wrenching, last-second loss at Biola with an 82-74 win over Concordia University Irvine at CU Arena.
It didn't come easy, though.
The 'Swords, in the third contest of their four-game Southern California road trip, saw a 17-point lead evaporate before getting several clutch baskets down the stretch to snap their four-game PacWest losing streak.
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS) hit 9-of-13 shots for 21 points – his second straight 20-point performance – and had seven rebounds and seven assists to help the 'Swords win their first conference road game of the season.
Chaminade's 57.4 field goal percentage – the team's highest since February 2020 – helped them improve to 6-10 on the year and 2-6 in the PacWest. After losing the first five meetings in CU Arena, the 'Swords won their second straight win in the building and third in a row in the head-to-head matchup.
Just two days after moving up in the program's all-time scoring list,
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) had 19, eclipsing Chaminade Hall of Famer George Gilmore (1990-92) to fifth in the all-time scoring list with 1,540.
Jamir Thomas (Berkeley, Calif./City College of San Francisco/Berkeley HS) added 18 points, slashing his way to 8-of-10 shooting from the field, most on driving layups.
Wyatt Lowell (Gilbert, Ariz./University of Portland/William Fields HS) contributed with 12 points.
Connor Gleason had 24 points for the Golden Eagles (7-6, 4-3 PacWest).
Playing one of their better first halves of the season, the 'Swords opened up a 15-5 lead through the game's first five minutes, hitting seven of their first eight tries including a 3-pointer from Amaral-Artharee on the game's first possession, three Reeves baskets and two more from Thomas.
Brycen Shackelford's (Folsom, Calif./Folsom) layup with 4:35 left in the half gave Chaminade its first double-digit lead at 33-22. Reeves got his 11th point three minutes later giving the Silverswords, which shot 58.6 percent (17-of-29) in the first half, their largest lead of the game at 43-27, en-route to a 45-31 edge at halftime.
The 'Swords would continue to own a double-digit lead, increasing it to 58-41 with 14:14 left on Lowell's 3-pointer. However, CUI caught fire and over the next five minutes, made all eight of its field goal attempts, capping their 24-6 run with two free throws by Javier Gallardo to give the Golden Eagles their first lead of the game at 65-64 with 7:51 remaining.
Chaminade's deficit lasted all of 18 seconds when Lowell knocked down a 10-footer from the left baseline to put them back up, 66-65. Thomas added two buckets and, with the 'Swords up 73-70, Reeves buried a corner 3-pointer to give them a 76-70 edge with just under four minutes left.
CUH sealed the win with a pair of
Kelton Samore (Portland, Ore./Seattle Pacific University/Grant HS) free throws and baskets from Reeves and Thomas inside of a minute left to help them survive the CUI rally.
Aside from being the Silverswords' highest shooting percentage in nearly four years, it was also their highest in a PacWest road game since a 60 percent night at Hawai'i Hilo on Feb. 2, 2020. They made 8-of-18 from long range, 12-of-13 free throws while outrebounding Concordia, 37-to-22, although they suffered through 15 turnovers.
The Golden Eagles shot 47.4 from the field with five triples, was 15-of-22 from the foul line and had seven assists and nine giveaways.
The Silverswords wrap up their SoCal road trip Saturday at PacWest preseason favorite Azusa Pacific. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. Hawai'i time or 25 minutes after the completion of the women's game.
