The Chaminade basketball team has started 0-3 for the second time in coach Aaron Griess' two years at the helm. Of course, Chaminade has it harder than most because it starts the season hosting what many consider the premier preseason tournament in all of college hoops -- the Maui Invitational. Silverswords suffer
familiar winless startBy Brandon Lee
blee@starbulletin.comThree Top 5 teams were among the seven Division I programs completing this year's field. Chaminade didn't have to play any of them, yet was still unable to come up with its first MIT victory since 1992, a span of 27 games.
But the Silverswords came close in their final tournament game -- a three-point loss to Houston -- and played competitively for stretches in their two earlier games: a 13-point defeat in the opener to South Carolina and a 12-point loss to Seton Hall the second day.
Junior newcomer Leon Ballard played consistently well, scoring in double figures (20, 14 and 16) in all three games and also pulling down 12 rebounds against Seton Hall. Shooting guard Albert Powell hit six 3-pointers en route to a game-high 23 points against Houston.
Chaminade returns to action Monday night when it hosts North Park at McCabe Gym at 7:30.
3 Sea Warriors honored, Wong joins Tuitele at tryouts
Sea Warrior seniors Nia Tuitele, Andrea Wean and Roberta Robert were the only representatives from the Pacific West Conference on the All-Pacific Region team, announced earlier this week. It was the third such honor for Tuitele, while a first for both Wean and Robert.Joining Tuitele next month for national (A & B) team tryouts in San Diego will be senior defensive specialist Kea Wong. Like Tuitele, Wong was on both of HPU's Division II national championship teams.
Fresh off last Friday's upset of No. 20 Nebraska-Kearney in its season opener, the HPU basketball team returns to the court tonight at 6:30 against Division I Notre Dame (2-0). The Sea Warriors' game against the Irish will be the finale of the first day of action in their HPU Thanksgiving Classic, which runs through Sunday at Blaisdell Arena. HPU has not won a game in three previous years of the tournament.
The winner of the HPU-Notre Dame game will face the Tennessee Chattanooga-Liberty winner at 6:30 tomorrow night, with the losers meeting earlier at 4:30. Rounding out the field of seven Division I teams and HPU are: Vanderbilt, Hampton, Monmouth and Akron.
Top performers
Scott Prather, Hawaii-Hilo basketball: The 5-foot-11 senior floor general from Kula, Maui, showed he can be the Vulcans' go-to option, scoring in bunches in addition to distributing the ball this week. He scored a team-high 46 points on 20-of-33 shooting in two nonconference wins, to go along with 10 rebounds, nine steals and eight assists.Leon Ballard, Chaminade basketball: The junior newcomer, a 6-5 forward from San Joaquin Delta College, showed he has no problem hooping it up among the NCAA's best. He scored in double figures (20, 14 and 16) in all three games the Silverswords played against Division I competition in their Maui Invitational.
Nina Christensen, Lisa Blomme and Sayuri Kusutani, HPU women's cross country: Each of the Sea Warriors' outstanding trio of runners earned All-America honors after finishing among the top 25 at Saturday's Division II national championship meet. Christensen placed sixth, Blomme 12th and Kusutani 24th.