Chaminade’s Long Range Assault Defeats UHH in PacWest Men’s Matchup

There are some things that you can overcome in a basketball game, like getting outrebounded or shooting poorly from the field. But, when the other team connects on 17 three-point shots in a game, it takes a near perfect effort to still come up with a victory.

The Vulcans hit twelve three-pointers of their own, but were out-gunned by the Chaminade Silverswords 94-86 at McCabe Gymnasium in Honolulu. With the loss, the Vulcans (9-17, 3-15 PacWest) failed to win a game on the road this season, finishing the year with an 0-9 record away from the UHH campus.

The visitors actually got out to a 4-0 start, powered by senior Joshua Figueroa, who dropped the first four points of the game inside the paint. The Silverswords took their first lead later when Waly Coulibaly drained the first three of the game, putting Chaminade up 5-4. Lee Bailey and Dominique Cooks got involved later with three-point shots of their own a few minutes later, and the Swords were up 13-7 six minutes into the game, forcing UHH to use a timeout.

The Vulcans responded with a 7-0 run to take a one point lead, but the Swords kept draining shots. Coulibaly hit another three, following a pair of shots from Bennie Murray and Rickey Clayborn, to give Chaminade a 22-14 lead nearly midway through the first half.

By the time Chaminade took a 45-40 lead into the locker room, they had already racked up 8 treys, accounting for half of their made shots, while the Vulcans weren’t far behind with six of their own.

The fifteen minute halftime break didn’t cool down the home team. The Silverswords hit two straight threes in the first minute of the second half, both by Bailey, and got out to an 11 point lead, leading to another UHH timeout.

The biggest the lead would get was 13, and it happened as late as with seven minutes to go, when Murray knocked down his third three of the game. It would be the 17th trey made in the game, breaking a season-high that was set back in January against Academy of Art, when they hit 16.

The Vulcans were still shooting from outside to stay in the game, however. Mychael Hearn hit his only three in the game to get the team back within 10. Four minutes later, and still down by the same margin, senior Zach Wilde hit a three from the top of the arch, starting a 7-0 run that pushed the Vulcans back within three points with 1:34 remaining. They would not get any closer, as Wilde missed another three try from the left wing with under 40 seconds left, and the Silverswords hit their free throws to close the game out.

Four different Silverswords combined to reach the 17 trey mark. Lee Bailey went 8-for-10 from distance, while Dominique Cooks was 4-for-5, Bennie Murray shot 3-for-10 from range, and Waly Coulibaly hit 2 of his 6 attempts. On the other side, the Vulcans, not known for their long range shooting, nailed 13, led by Dirk Snel, who hit 5-of 12. Kiel Myers was perfect in his three attempts, Terrell Mack went 2-for-4, and Wilde hit his first of two tries.

Hawaii-Hilo 40 46 – 84

Chaminade 45 49 – 94

TEAM STATS:

Hawaii-Hilo – 29-65 FG (44.6%), 13-27 3PT (48.1%), 15-19 FT (78.9%)

Chaminade – 33-66 FG (50.0%), 17-34 3PT (50.0%), 11-14 FG (78.6%)

LEADING SCORERS: Hawaii-Hilo – Terrell Mack 22, Dirk Snel 17, Kiel Myers 12, Michael Melonas 8, CJ Brown 7, Zachary Wilde 6, Mychael Hearn 5, Joshua Figueroa 5, Paul Batausa 4. Chaminade – Lee Bailey 30, Dominique Cooks 24, Bennie Murray 13, Rickey Clayborn 13, Waly Coulibaly 8, Matt Cousins 6.

Vulcan Women Win to Clinch Winning Season

The University of Hawaii at Hilo Women’s Basketball program finished the 2011-2012 with the best mark in the program’s history after defeating Chaminade 64-44 on Saturday. With the win, the Vulcans improved to 14-12 on the season, including going 11-7 in the PacWest Conference. The finishing record is impressive, considering the 1-5 start, including losses in the first four games of the season.

The start was slow for David Kaneshiro’s team. The Silverswords got out to a 19-8 lead over the first nine minutes of the game, sparked by a 11-2 run early on in the quarter. Senior Kelly Costello hit a field goal and a free throw, followed by five straight points by Jordan Ahakuelo. Then, Costello drained a three to close out the run.

Chaminade then went cold from the field, coming up empty over the next nine and a half minutes. The Vulcans at times were still shaky, but took advantage, eventually taking a lead on a Hillary Hurley basket with 3:47 to go in the half to go up 24-22. They would never lose that lead, going up 31-26 at halftime.

The shooting woes for the home team persisted. Chaminade shot 3-of-16 from the field in the second half, waiting almost nine and a half more minuted to hit a shot until Nikki Tauau hit a three to get Chaminade within 16 points. But, by that point, the Vulcans had been cruising, opening up a lead as much as 27 points before winning by 20.

Hurley closed out her college basketball career by picking up another double-double, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. It was her fifth consecutive double-double of the year, helping prompt Head Coach Kaneshiro to tell me after the game that he thought she was “the best player in the conference.”

Chaminade finished the season with only one win, coming at home against BYU-Hawaii. The Silverswords said goodbye to three seniors and one junior, Jamie Higa. The junior’s career was cut short because of lingering concussion symptoms. Higa was able to put on a uniform and play in the final minute of the game, although coach Bobby Keanini didn’t want her to get any ideas of playing defense or hustling up and down the court. Costello, Poerava Gantt, and Brittany Copp were the other seniors honored.

Hawaii-Hilo 31 33 – 64

Chaminade 26 18 – 44

TEAM STATS:

Hawaii-Hilo: 24-48 FG (50.0%), 3-13 3PT (23.1%), 13-15 FT (86.7%)

Chaminade: 11-39 FG (28.2%), 5-19 3PT (26.3%), 17-26 FT (65.4%)

LEADING SCORERS: Hawaii-Hilo – Hillary Hurley 22, Jameia McDuffie 11, Kirsty Imai 9, Natalie Mata 6, Elise Spain 6, Kirsten Shimizu 5, Thea Hanato-Smith 3, Jazlyn Afusia 2. Chaminade – Jordan Ahakuelo 17, Kelly Costello 14, Rhani Kaneaiakala 6, Nikki Tauau 4, Dianna Zane 3.