HONOLULU – After dropping their last two games against fellow Division II competition, the Chaminade University men's basketball team got back on track with a victory over their in-city rivals.
Kent King (Washington, D.C./Vincennes University/Fork Union Military Academy) came off the bench for a team-high 19 points while
Roland Banks II (Bakersfield, Calif./Fullerton College/Cathedral HS) added 14 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double this season, to help the Silverswords down Hawai'i Pacific University, 78-64, in the first meeting for the battle of Honolulu supremacy.
Jackson Last (Hurricane, Utah/Robert Morris University/Hurricane HS) had 11 points and
Jamir Thomas (Berkeley, Calif./City College of San Francisco/Berkeley HS) 10 to help the Silverswords improve to 7-2 while picking up their first Pacific West Conference win to even their league record to 1-1.
Charlie Weber had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Sharks, who fell to 3-3 and 1-1 in the PacWest.
Meanwhile, in the sibling matchup,
Kameron Ng (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Univ. of Hawai'i Hilo/Saint Francis HS) had four points and three rebounds as he went head-to-head against his brother, Kordel Ng, and helped to keep the younger Ng without a point in nearly 13 minutes.
HPU owned an 11-6 lead early in the game before
Amound Anderson (Los Angeles, Calif./Fullerton College/Leuzinger HS) and King buried back-to-back 3-pointers to put the 'Swords ahead by a point. The teams would swap leads four times over a two-minute span before a breakaway dunk by
Kris King (Washington, D.C./Vincennes University/Fork Union Military Academy) gave Chaminade a 19-18 advantage, which it would not surrender. Banks made consecutive layups to extend their lead to 23-18 as they expanded the score to 40-31 at the break.
The Silverswords would maintain a double-digit lead before HPU made a push to close within 62-58 at the 7:38 mark. However, Last, Anderson and
Kris King would account for each of Chaminade's 6-0 run to stretch its lead to 68-54 with 5:31 left and kept their double-digit lead until the final horn.
The 'Swords were 41.2 percent from the field, making 8-of-30 from 3-point distance and 14-of-20 at the free throw line. They grabbed 42 rebounds and outscored the Sharks, 35-21, from the bench. They committed nine turnovers but had just seven assists, a season low.
HPU made 40 percent of its shots, was 6-for-30 from long range and made half of their 12 free throws. The Sharks hauled in 41 assists, had 19 assists with just 14 giveaways.
The Silverswords will make their first venture to the mainland when they open a three-game road trip Tuesday at PacWest newcomer Menlo College. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. Hawai'i time.
