AZUSA, Calif. – The theme at the Chaminade University and Azusa Pacific University men's basketball game on Wednesday was who would make the least amount of mistakes down the stretch.
In the end, it was the Silverswords who avoided making errors at critical moments to escape with an 84-81 overtime win.
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 17 points while pulling down 11 and nine rebounds, respectively. The latter King also dished out four assists.
Despite several missed layups and free throws as well as giveaways in the final seven minutes of the game including in the extra time, Chaminade benefited from a foul at the end of regulation that sent the game into overtime then forced turnovers on APU's final two possessions to survive.
The win improved the Silverswords to 6-4 overall and 4-0 in the Pacific West Conference, with all four conference victories on the road, a program first, and their best PacWest start in seven years. The victory also snapped a four-game losing streak at APU's Felix Event Center in the team's final appearance in the venue with the Cougars moving to NCAA Division III starting next year.
Nathan Medina (Long Beach, Calif./Biola University/Valley Christian HS) added 16 points while
Nate Sasser III (West Palm Beach, Fla./Casper College/Suncoast HS) chipped in with 13 including a free throw that sent the game into overtime.
Roland Banks II (Bakersfield, Calif./Fullerton College/Cathedral HS) added 10 points and
Brycen Shackelford (Folsom, Calif./Folsom) with six points which included the tying and go-ahead free throws in OT.
Azusa Pacific got 16 points from Shad Thomas in falling to 1-6 and 0-3 in the PacWest.
Chaminade led for most of the first half before the Cougars charged back in the second, taking a 53-52 edge with 12:28 left, their first in nearly 15 minutes.
A 13-0 run, paced by Sasser's five points, tilted the lead back to Chaminade, who built a nine-point advantage, their largest of the game. APU rallied and that's when the dramatics ensued.
With the 'Swords clinging to a 73-72 lead in the waning seconds, APU's 6-foot-11 big man Caleb Taylor's 15-foot air ball was grabbed midair by Caleb Oden who hit the go-ahead reverse layup to put the Cougars up by a point with 1.6 seconds left.
With CUH out of timeouts, Banks quickly fired a length-of-the-court pass to Sasser, who got behind the defense, and with 0.4 seconds left was fouled going for the rim on the game-winning layup try. The junior forward made the second of two free throws to send the game into overtime.
APU hit a pair of baskets in its first three possessions in the extra session to build a 79-75 advantage. The Cougars held an 81-80 edge and, with 29 seconds left, Shackelford stepped in front of a Cougars' inbounds pass for a steal and was fouled on his way to the rim. The senior then sank both free throws to give the 'Swords an 81-80 advantage.
With APU now looking for the go-ahead score, Banks hemmed Tobias Aisien in the corner, forcing him to step on the out-of-bounds line which subsequently led to a foul where Medina hit both foul shots for a three-point Chaminade edge with 3.6 seconds left. The Cougars were unable to get a shot off as time expired.
Chaminade shot 42.9 percent from the floor, made 7-of-22 triples and was 17-of-26 at the foul line while grabbing 47 rebounds with 14 assists and 19 turnovers.
APU was at a 37.7 percent field goal clip, was 7-of-33 from long range and 16-of-27 at the free throw line. The Cougars had 51 rebounds, 18 assists and 18 turnovers.
The Silverswords will wrap up the first half of their SoCal trip on Saturday at Westmont College. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Hawai'i time.
