HONOLULU – The Chaminade University men's basketball team's new nickname should be the "Cardiac Kids."
The Silverswords, in the midway point of their five-game home stand had yet another close call on Saturday, this time pulling out an 85-83 win over Dominican University of California at McCabe Gymnasium, the team's third straight game that finished within one possession.
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) both posted 18 points with the former also pulling in seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists for the 'Swords who nearly surrendered a double-digit lead with two minutes remaining.
Nate Sasser III (West Palm Beach, Fla./Casper College/Suncoast HS) added a season-high 16 points while
Roland Banks II (Bakersfield, Calif./Fullerton College/Cathedral HS) and
Fletcher MacDonald (Wollongong, Australia/Lubbock Christian Univ./Newington College HS) both contributed with 10 points to help Chaminade not only improve to 9-5 but remain at the top of the Pacific West Conference standings at 7-1.
Darius Best had 25 points for Dominican (9-7, 4-6 PacWest) and nearly had a perfect shooting night, making all eight shots and missed all but one of his eight free throw tries.
Neither team was able to make a significant run early in the first half but Best went 5-for-5 and had all of the Penguins' points during a late 11-2 run that helped them take a 41-36 halftime lead.
Kris King's layup with 14:03 left put the 'Swords up 49-48, their first lead in nearly nine minutes. The lead seesawed over the next five minutes from
Kris King got another shot to drop, putting the home team up for good, 62-61.
Sasser's three-point play gave Chaminade its largest lead of 79-68 with 3:31 left. The Penguins took advantage of several CUH misses, twice closing within three points. But Sasser stuck a pull-up 13-footer with 31 seconds left then Banks hit two free throws with four seconds left to make it a two-possession game in both instances. Dominican hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, making the final margin a two-point win.
Chaminade finished at a 36 percent shooting clip to Dominican's 49.2, the Penguins' percentile aided by a 35-to-23 advantage in defensive rebounds. However the 'Swords countered by forcing 24 DUC turnovers, turning them into 24 points, and taking 35 trips to the free throw line while the Penguins made 17 trips. Chaminade also had 20 assists and 19 steals.
The Silverswords end their home stand with a pair of McCabe contests next week, starting Thursday against Biola University. Tipoff is 25 minutes after the completion of the women's game.
