Sunday, January 13, 2002
[ DIVISION II SPORTS ]
In as close to a must-win situation as possible two games into its Pacific West Conference schedule, the Hawaii Pacific basketball team came through with a victory last night. HPU able to hold
off ChaminadeBy Brandon Lee
blee@starbulletin.comBarely.
The host Sea Warriors (10-4 overall, 1-1 PacWest) picked up their first conference win with a 70-69 defeat of Chaminade at Mid-Pacific Institute gym, after dropping a close one to the Silverswords on Friday night.
Starting the PacWest season by dropping two home games in a 15-game schedule was not something HPU coach Tony Sellitto or his players wanted to contemplate. They now enter a three-game road swing, starting Friday at Western New Mexico.
"If we had lost two at home to start, then had to go on this road trip, we would have had a long mountain to climb," Sellitto said. "I don't think I've ever faced a must-win game like this so early in the conference (schedule)."
Chaminade (10-6, 3-2), playing next at Hawaii-Hilo on Jan. 21, almost did manage to steal two on the road from the Sea Warriors. After HPU matched its biggest lead of the night at 51-39 with 12:35 remaining, the Sea Warriors suddenly went flat.
The Silverswords took advantage with an 18-4 run over six minutes to take a 57-55 lead, and still had a two-point lead at 69-67 with 40 seconds left.
But Nash Subotic, who led the Sea Warriors with a game-high 19 points, was fouled by Albert Powell with 12 seconds to play on a 3-point attempt from the left corner. Subotic hit all three free throws to end the scoring.
"Whew," Subotic said. "Whenever I'm shooting free throws, I have confidence. But I knew I absolutely had to hit the first one. From there I was fine, but it was a very tough game."
Jaborri Thomas' drive-and-pop in the lane and Igor Beljanski's putback attempt both were unsuccessful for Chaminade as time expired.
"We played poorly tonight," Silverswords coach Aaron Griess said. "I'm glad we battled back, but we didn't take the things we learned (Friday) night and use them in this game."
Alvin Stephenson had 12 points off the bench for HPU, while starting point guard John Avilla added 10 and five assists.
Thomas led four Chaminade players in double-figures with 16 points. Powell and Kashif Reyes each had 12, while Mike Donegan totaled 11.
Neither team shot well for the game, with the Sea Warriors edging the Silverswords 43 percent (22 of 51) to 37 percent (19 of 52). The rebounding edge was just 34 to 33 in HPU's favor, but the Sea Warriors collected 10 blocks to just two for Chaminade.
Brigham Young-Hawaii 83, Hawaii Hilo 78: At Laie, Alexus Foyle bounced back from a poor performance Friday with 25 points on 12-for-18 shooting and Yuta Tabuse added 10 points and nine assists.
The Seasiders (10-5, 1-1) were helped out by Keli'i Naihe's 20 points from outside and Scott Salisbury's dominance down low. Salisbury scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help his team to a 38-28 edge on the boards.
The Vulcans (14-3, 4-1) got 29 points from Derek Mgbeke and 15 from Brady Hyde, but not much else. Scott Prather was held to 14 points on 4-for-11 shooting.
Hawaii Pacific
BYU-Hawaii
Chaminade
U.H. Hilo