LA MIRADA, Calif. – When the Chaminade University men's basketball team began their three-game road trip to Southern California last Tuesday, the Silverswords were the Pacific West Conference leaders.
Fast forward six days where the 'Swords return home barely hanging on to a berth in March's PacWest Championships.
On Monday, Chaminade was on the short end of an 82-70 result at Biola University, having dropped all three games in SoCal. At 8-5 in the conference (10-9 overall), the Silverswords are third, just percentage points ahead of No. 4 Westmont (9-6). However, they are also just two games away from being on the outside looking in as one of the top six teams to qualify for the championships.
Roland Banks II (Bakersfield, Calif./Fullerton College/Cathedral HS),
Kent King (Washington, D.C./Vincennes University/Fork Union Military Academy) and
Kris King (Washington, D.C./Vincennes University/Fork Union Military Academy) all had 12 points for the 'Swords with the latter King also pulling down nine rebounds with four assists.
Fletcher MacDonald (Wollongong, Australia/Lubbock Christian Univ./Newington College HS) chipped in with 11 points.
Chris Harris had 23 points for the Eagles (9-11, 5-9 PacWest) who swept the season series for the second straight year. Biola also continued a stretch of success against Chaminade, having won nine of the last 12 meetings.
Nathan Medina (Long Beach, Calif./Biola University/Valley Christian HS), who spent his first three years at Biola, had a less-than-memorable homecoming with nine points, making just one 3-pointer against his former teammates and coaches.
The Eagles used a 19-7 run to close out the first half to break open a tied game for a 45-33 halftime lead and CUH would not get closer than 12 the rest of the game.
The 'Swords were 43.1 percent from the field and made eight 3-pointers but was 12-of-21 at the free throw line. They had 32 rebounds, 12 assists and nine steals.
The Eagles shot 51.9 from the floor with eight triples and was 18-of-22 at the charity stripe with 35 boards and 17 assists.
The Silverswords return home to McCabe Gymnasium for the final five home games of the season, starting Saturday against longtime in-city rival Hawai'i Pacific University. There will be several in-game contests for CUH students to win various prizes. Tipoff is at 4 p.m.
