HONOLULU – On the court for the first time in 10 days – and just the third time in past 20 – the Chaminade University men's basketball team got five players in the double-digit scoring ledger as the Silverswords routed Grace Christian University, 105-61, in the Hoops in Hawai'i Classic at The Shark Tank.
Twin brothers
Kent King (Washington, D.C./Vincennes University/Fork Union Military Academy) and
Kris King (Washington, D.C./Vincennes University/Fork Union Military Academy) each had 18 points in the win while Kent also snagged 10 rebounds.
Amound Anderson (Los Angeles, Calif./Fullerton College/Leuzinger HS) and
Fletcher MacDonald (Wollongong, Australia/Lubbock Christian Univ./Newington College HS) both returned after missing the previous game against Northwest Indian College for 16 and 10 points, respectively.
Jamir Thomas (Berkeley, Calif./City College of San Francisco/Berkeley HS) added 14 more.
The Silverswords, who entered Saturday tied for eighth nationally in turnovers forced per game at 21.5, caused 26 Tiger giveaways and recycled them into 38 points.
The win improved Chaminade to 5-0, their best start since the 2018-19 team won their first 10 games.
Grace Christian, a National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) school from Michigan, got 15 points from Bankeys Omari in falling to 4-5 on the season.
After nearly two weeks of relative inactivity, the 'Swords found themselves down 11-7 at the first media timeout. But they kicked in to high gear, going on a 23-2 surge over a four-minute span which they went 10-of-11 shooting from the floor with Anderson and
Jackson Last (Hurricane, Utah/Robert Morris University/Hurricane HS) getting five points each. The Tigers did not make a bucket for six minutes during the run, finally getting a layup from Aidan Burns at the 9:26 mark of the half but had found themselves already trailing 30-15.
Kris King made a pair of free throws to give the 'Swords their first 20-point lead (36-16). That was followed in the waning minutes of the first half when Chaminade hit four straight 3-pointers – two from Thomas with one each from Anderson and
Zeki Cavli (Bodrum, Turkey/McCook JC/Myerscough College HS) – to put them up 50-24 with just under three minutes left in the half.
Chaminade shot 57.5 percent and posted 57 first-half points, its most in the first 20 minutes this season. CUH would outscore the Tigers, 48-34, in the second half as the outcome was never in doubt.
The 'Swords finished at a 56 percent shooting clip (42-of-75) and made 8-of-29 from long range while hitting 13-of-18 from the free throw line. They out-rebounded the Tigers, 46-to-30, and dished out 12 assists with 13 turnovers while outscoring GCU, 62-28 in the paint, and 38-10 in fast break points.
Grace Christian shot 36.7 percent from the floor with six triples and was 11-of-14 from the charity stripe.
The Silverswords will play for a second straight day on Sunday when they host Adelphi University at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
