HONOLULU – With three wins to open their five-game homestand, the Chaminade University men's basketball team was hoping to keep the momentum going Thursday against Biola University.
However, the Silverswords ran into one of the most hot-shooting halves by an opponent in recent memory in their stunning 98-85 defeat to the Eagles at McCabe Gymnasium.
The Eagles made 22-of-30 shots in the second half for a staggering 73.3 percent, snapping the 'Swords three-game win streak in handing them their first home loss of the season and just their second Pacific West Conference defeat.
The 'Swords did get outstanding efforts from 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), who combined for 46 points and 20 rebounds.
The loss dropped Chaminade to 9-6 overall and 7-2 in the PacWest, dropping them out of first place. Four-time defending conference champion Point Loma surged ahead to the top of the standings at 9-2 while the 'Swords fell into second.
Kent King, the reigning PacWest Defender of the Week, proved his worthiness of the award with not only 24 points but 11 rebounds, nine of the defensive end. He also dished out four assists.
Kris King was not to be outdone with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Fletcher MacDonald (Wollongong, Australia/Lubbock Christian Univ./Newington College HS) made 6-of-9 shots for 14 points while
Nathan Medina (Long Beach, Calif./Biola University/Valley Christian HS) added 10 points against the team he played with the previous three seasons before transferring to Chaminade.
Roland Banks II (Bakersfield, Calif./Fullerton College/Cathedral HS) tied
Kent King for the high assists mark with four dimes.
Cameron Brown and Chris Harris each had 24 points for Biola (7-9, 3-7 PacWest) which snapped a four-game losing streak. The Eagles have won the last three meetings and seven of the last nine in the series.
Everything seemed to be going Chaminade's way early, building a 20-8 lead in the opening seven minutes.
Kent King had eight points during the stretch with five each from
Kris King and MacDonald and a field goal from Medina. The Eagles chipped away at the deficit to trail 42-39 at halftime.
Biola came scorching to start the second half, hitting its first five shots to take a 51-49 lead. And despite the Silverswords fighting to keep pace, the Eagles' rim continued to look like a giant sinkhole as shot after shot continued to fall. At the 7:44 mark, Biola made 17 of its first 20 attempts of the half – a staggering 85 percent – including 7-of-10 from 3-point range and missed consecutive shots just once during the stretch to grab an 81-69 lead. The 'Swords could not recover after that.
The 'Swords shot 44.9 percent and was 20-of-34 at the free throw line. They made 3-of-15 from 3-point range, a season-low for both. They grabbed 38 rebounds with 13 assists and 11 turnovers.
Biola's sizzling second half enabled it to shoot 53.4 from the floor, 9-of-23 from long range and made 11 of its 20 charity stripe shots. The Eagles hauled in 45 boards with 18 assists and 15 giveaways.
The Silverswords wrap up their homestand Saturday when they face Westmont College, which gave them their first PacWest loss in December. Tipoff at McCabe Gym is 25 minutes after the completion of the women's game.
