HONOLULU – It is likely one of the most improbable outcomes of the season.
With injuries decimating the team to just seven primary players, the Chaminade University men's basketball team reached deep down and scored a 68-63 victory Saturday over Pacific West Conference contender Academy of Art at McCabe Gymnasium.
Fletcher MacDonald (Wollongong, Australia/Lubbock Christian Univ./Newington College HS) made 8-of-12 from the field for a game-high 17 points while
Jamir Thomas (Berkeley, Calif./City College of San Francisco/Berkeley HS) added 16 with four 3-pointers, two of which were key factors in a Silverswords' second-half run which gave them the lead after trailing for much of the game.
Kent King (Washington, D.C./Vincennes University/Fork Union Military Academy) was a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line for 14 points while
Jackson Last (Hurricane, Utah/Robert Morris University/Hurricane HS) had a solid all-around performance with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. It was the team's first time touching the McCabe Gym floor in three weeks after Thursday's storm forced them to play at Hawai'i Pacific University's Shark Tank.
Chaminade's fifth starter,
Roland Banks II (Bakersfield, Calif./Fullerton College/Cathedral HS) had five boards and five assists.
The win snapped a four-game losing skid to ART U and improved the 'Swords to 14-9 overall and 8-8 in the PacWest.
Donovan Vickers had 14 points for the Urban Knights, who fell to 12-7 overall and 8-4 in the conference.
Employing a new-look zone defense, Chaminade scored the game's first five points and led for the majority of the opening 10 minutes. ART U managed to grab the lead with 9:33 left in the first half and watched it grow to as many as eight early in the second. CUH kept hanging around then at the 10-minute mark, trailed 48-43. Last and King each hit a pair of free throws, which led to the game's key sequence.
Thomas knocked down his first 3-pointer of the second half with 8:56 left which gave the Silverswords a 50-48 lead, their first since 13-12. He then forced a turnover on the ensuing Urban Knights' possession, which led to his second triple in as many trips, putting CUH up 53-48, which keyed their 11-0 surge.
Thomas came up big again, burying his third three-ball of the half with 5:29 left which helped Chaminade build a 63-52 lead. ART U wasn't finished, closing to within 63-60 with 1:30 remaining but Fletcher threw down an alley-oop flush off Last's lob to give the 'Swords a two-possession lead with 30 seconds left.
Both teams shot 37.7 percent from the field and the Urban Knights making 10 triples to the Silverswords' six. However, Chaminade was 22-of-28 at the charity stripe while ART U made 7-of-12. The Urban Knights were two better on the glass (38-to-36) and had 14 turnovers to Chaminade's 15. Both squads had 15 assists.
The Silverswords will get a full six days off until they resume action on Saturday, Feb. 8, when they face new PacWest member Jessup University in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Tipoff at McCabe Gym is at 2 p.m.
