ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Diego State's Tommy Johnson, right, drew a charge from Chaminade's Chris Acker in the second half yesterday.
Chaminade back to work
LAHAINA >> So where does Chaminade go from here?
Back to work.
After opening the season with a memorable three-day run against NCAA Division I competition in the prestigious EA Sports Maui Invitational, the Silverswords return to Honolulu this weekend and will try to refocus on their Division II season.
"It's something we work with every year," Chaminade coach Aaron Griess said. "Our guys look forward to this tournament so much and they put so much time and energy and effort into preparing for this tournament, when its over and we have to go back and play at McCabe (Gym) in front of a hundred people and no cameras and no microphones ... it's a little bit different.
"But this is a different group. We've had trouble before, but I don't think we're going to have trouble this year. These guys play because they like to play."
Chaminade (1-2) finished fourth in the tournament after losing to San Diego State 75-67 in the third-place game yesterday at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Chaminade posted its highest finish in the tournament since 1991, when George Gilmore led the Silverswords to an upset of Providence in the opening round en route to a fourth-place showing.
The Silverswords beat Stanford for seventh place the following year, then went a full decade without tasting victory on Maui, a span of 30 tournament games.
The streak ended with a win over Big East member Villanova on Monday. The Wildcats were left with seven eligible players for the games due to suspensions and injuries, but recovered to beat Santa Clara in overtime on Tuesday. They then lost to Ohio State 67-66 in yesterday's fifth-place game.
"You see Villanova comes out here and play their tails off all three days," Griess said. "Even though they were undermanned, that's still a Big East team and they're really good and our guys beat them."
The Silverswords' win on ESPN on Monday morning put the team on national TV the next two days as well. They will likely be the only Division II school to make three national appearances this year.
"It's huge," said Griess, who is also the school's athletic director. "You get three games on TV and compete in every single one of them. That's why I'm so proud of these guys, they earned it. It wasn't something that was given to us."
The emotional high of the win over Villanova was followed by a stinging loss to hometown rival Hawaii. The Silverswords recovered in time to stick with San Diego State (3-1) for most of yesterday's game before eventually falling.
"We gave a lot of effort in game one, a lot of emotion was poured into that," Chaminade guard Roy Stigall III said. "It's definitely tough to match, but we tried and we gave it our all."
Trailing 32-22 late in the first half, the Silverswords closed the period with a 9-0 run, then took a 33-32 lead in the first minute of the second half. The Aztecs reclaimed the lead and eventually opened up a double-digit advantage behind the play of forward Aerick Sanders, who finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds, and guard Wesley Stokes (19 points, five assists).
"The biggest thing for me is just to watch us as a team come together, and not get down those 10 points or 12 points and then just lose it in our heads, stay tough and keep playing hard," Chaminade forward Sam Henning said.
Bryon Sykes led Chaminade with 14 points, while Chris Acker added 13.
FIFTH PLACE
Ohio State 67, Villanova 66: The Buckeyes (2-2) held off a Wildcat rally to claim fifth place. Ohio State led by as many as 17 only to see Villanova (3-2) cut the lead to one on a 3-pointer by Mike Nardi with 1:28 left. But the Buckeyes answered with a layup by Tony Stockman with 31 seconds left and held on down the stretch.
SEVENTH PLACE
Santa Clara 76, Central Michigan 62: Doron Perkins came off the bench to score 15 points for the Broncos (1-2).Central Michigan (0-3) played the game while mourning the death of junior walk-on Brent Edwards, who died Tuesday due to injuries suffered in a car accident just south of Mount Pleasant, Mich., on Monday.
Edwards did not make the trip to Maui with the Chippewas, who were informed of his death after their game with Ohio State on Tuesday.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Brent's family," CMU head coach Jay Smith said in a release. "We wish we could be there with them right now."
Edwards played in three games last season and had two points and two rebounds in those appearances.
San Diego State 75, Chaminade 67SAN DIEGO: Walton 5-8 1-4 12, Sanders 7-14 0-0 14, Johnson 1-5 0-0 3, Heath 3-11 4-4 10, Stokes 5-14 8-11 19, Sharper 2-2 0-0 6, Manker 3-6 0-2 7, Slaughter 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 28-65 13-21 75.
CHAMINADE: Henning 1-3 0-0 2, Frey 1-3 4-4 6, Sykes 4-6 4-5 14, Reyes 2-4 0-0 5, Stigall 3-13 1-2 9, Mittelsteadt 3-4 0-0 6, Acker 4-8 4-6 13, Walters 0-1 0-0 0, Whiting 1-4 0-0 2, Metcalf 3-4 4-4 10. Totals 22-50 17-21 67.
Halftime--SDSU 32-31. 3-Point goals--SDSU 6-17 (Walton 1-1, Johnson 1-2, Heath 0-4, Stokes 1-6, Sharper 2-2, Manker 1-2), Chaminade 6-19 (Sykes 2-4, Reyes 1-3, Stigall 2-7, Acker 1-3, Whiting 0-2). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--SDSU 43 (Sanders 16), Chaminade 29 (Frey 7). Assists--SDSU 10 (Stokes 5), Chaminade 11 (Acker, Whiting 3). Total fouls--SDSU 19, Chaminade 24. Technical--SDSU team. A--2,500.
