HONOLULU – The first game of 2025 for the Chaminade University men's basketball team started on a positive note Thursday with a 78-74 win over Westmont College at McCabe Gymnasium.
Jackson Last (Hurricane, Utah/Robert Morris University/Hurricane HS) hit for a team-high 18 points including the go-ahead basket with 23 seconds left to play to help the Silverswords improve to 10-3, matching their win total from last season. They are also 4-2 in the Pacific West Conference.
Kent King (Washington, D.C./Vincennes University/Fork Union Military Academy) added 15 points and seven rebounds while
Jamir Thomas (Berkeley, Calif./City College of San Francisco/Berkeley HS) added 14 points in his return from an injury that cost him all three games of the Silverswords' northern California road trip prior to the Christmas break.
Amound Anderson (Los Angeles, Calif./Fullerton College/Leuzinger HS) chipped in with 13 points.
Kameron Ng (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Univ. of Hawai'i Hilo/Saint Francis HS) had six assists and six boards while
Fletcher MacDonald (Wollongong, Australia/Lubbock Christian Univ./Newington College HS) blocked four shots including one in the waning seconds that prevented Westmont's potential go-ahead basket with eight seconds remaining.
Westmont's Adrian McIntyre, the conference's leading scorer at over 27 per game, scored over half his team's points with 39, the most by a PacWest player this season, and his fourth 30-point performance of the 2024-25 year. The loss dropped the Warriors to 5-8 overall and 3-2 in the PacWest.
Chaminade established three nine-point leads early in the opening half and had its largest lead of 36-26 after a basket by
Brycen Shackelford (Folsom, Calif./Folsom) with 2:41 left capped an 8-0 run.
The 'Swords led, 36-28, at halftime with the most notable number being McIntyre who had 25 first-half points with 10 field goals. Westmont players not named McIntyre were a combined 1-for-14 from the floor.
A triple by
Roland Banks II (Bakersfield, Calif./Fullerton College/Cathedral HS) to begin the second half gave Chaminade its largest lead of 39-28. After a series of runs by both teams, the 'Swords held a 57-47 edge with 11:47 left before Westmont went on a 17-6 run as Drew Ramirez, who went 0-for-8 from the field in the first 20 minutes, hit his fourth triple of the second half which helped give the Warriors a 64-63 lead with 7:05 left. From there, it began a series of four ties and eight lead changes.
Last proved clutch down the stretch, putting the 'Swords up, 72-71, on a triple with 1:44 left. Then with 23 seconds remaining and CUH down by a point, he hit a 10-foot baby hook shot to put them ahead, 74-73.
With Westmont looking for the lead, the 'Swords came up with a huge defensive stop when MacDonald rejected McIntyre's potential go-ahead layup with eight seconds left to give them possession. After King hit both subsequent free throws to put them up by three, the 'Swords fouled McIntyre as he crossed midcourt with three seconds left to prevent a game-tying triple. McIntyre made the first free throw but his intentional miss for a chance of an offensive rebound and game-tying putback, clanked off the bottom of the rim and shot straight out of bounds. Anderson sealed it with two free throws.
Chaminade shot 38.2 percent from the field, made 12 triples and were 14-of-25 from the free throw line. They had 41 rebounds, 13 assists, 14 turnovers and 12 steals.
Westmont, who finally got help for McIntyre in the second half particularly Ramirez who had 15 in the final 20 minutes, were 42.6 from the floor, were 9-of-28 from long range and 13-of-20 at the charity stripe. The Warriors pulled in 45 boards, had 14 assists and committed 19 giveaways.
The Silverswords will face PacWest newcomer Vanguard University on Saturday with a 4 p.m. tipoff.
