The 2023-24 season for the Chaminade University men's basketball team was a mixed bag with on-court struggles and injuries. But it will go down as the finale to one of the finest individual careers in the long and storied history of Silverswords basketball lore.
Isaac Amaral-Artharee (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic), who had been with the program since 2018-19 as a redshirt freshman, wrapped up his six-year career as a 'Sword by finishing as the second-leading scorer in school history. His 1,732 points is bested only by Richard Haenisch (2,098), who played during the 1980-84 seasons when the program was nicknamed "Giant Killers." Amaral-Artharee is also the only guard on the list to surpass the 1,600-point barrier.
He also departed No. 2 in career 3-pointers with 236. Only he and Chaminade Hall of Famer George Gilmore have 200 triples in their careers.
His backcourt teammate,
Ross Reeves (Orem, Utah/Snow College/Orem HS), earned All-Pacific West Conference Third Team honors after posting 16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He was the only player in the conference to average 16 points, three assists and two steals.
Along with Amaral-Artharee, fellow seniors
Scott Ator (Murphy, Texas/College of the Sequoias/Wylie HS),
Chris Bready (Milwaukee, Wis./New Mexico Military Institute/Waukesha West HS) and
Wyatt Lowell (Gilbert, Ariz./University of Portland/William Fields HS) all wrapped up their collegiate careers. Ator finished with 72 blocked shots in his two years, which is eighth all-time while Bready, another two-year transfer, tallied 244 points, 115 boards and 39 steals.
Another plus was the Silverswords return to the Maui Invitational, although the setting was moved to the University of Hawai'i Manoa's Stan Sheriff Center due to the traditional home of the Lahaina Civic Center being used as an emergency facility due to the deadly August wildfire. With the Stan Sheriff Center located just a mile away from the Chaminade campus, it afforded more staff, students and local followers to experience the tournament without having to make a trip to Maui.
Against Kansas in their opening round game on Nov. 20, the 'Swords showed their meddle by drawing within 25-20 late in the first half before the consensus No. 1 Jayhawks pulled away in the final 20 minutes.
But there were also some difficult times as the 'Swords would finish the season 10-18 and a 6-13 PacWest mark, well below their preseason expectations.
Part of the team's bugaboos was their 3-8 conference record in games decided by five points or less. They also suffered two close losses to rival University of Hawai'i Hilo which not only extended their losing streak to their longtime nemesis to six but a 1-9 mark against the Vulcans in the last 10 meetings.
Making matters worse was injuries that decimated the squad down the stretch. The loss of starting guard
Jamir Thomas (Berkeley, Calif./City College of San Francisco/Berkeley HS) for the final eight games took away a scoring option. By the time the season finale arrived on Feb. 29, the 'Swords were down to eight healthy bodies.
Turning the page to 2024-25,
Eric Bovaird, already the longest tenured coach in program history, will be in his 14th season as head coach and will look to have a fully healthy squad as the 'Swords look to return among the PacWest elites.
