Chaminade's strong showing ends in loss to San Diego St.
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
LAHAINA, Maui — Chaminade got one upset and made a valiant effort at two more.
As a result, the Silverswords turned in their best performance in the EA Sports Maui Invitational in 11 years, despite a 75-67 loss to San Diego State in the game for third place yesterday at the Lahaina Civic Center.
The fourth-place showing was the best for the Silverswords since 1991, when they also placed fourth.
"We had a tremendous effort at the tournament," Chaminade head coach Aaron Griess said. "We got a win (on Monday), which is very big for us. We didn't win (yesterday); we got fourth place. And we earned fourth place by playing really hard and playing together for those three games."
Chaminade, the only NCAA Division II team in the field, has served as host of the prestigious eight-team tournament since 1984. Before this year, the Silverswords had lost 30 consecutive Maui Invitational games by an average margin of 18.9 points per game.
This year, Chaminade upset Villanova in the first round, and then came up short against Hawai'i and San Diego State. The Silverswords trailed by one point at halftime of the games against Hawai'i and SDSU.
"I don't think anybody in the gym and anybody at this tournament who saw San Diego State play thought we would be able to play with them because of the level of talent they have, the way they shoot it, and their athleticism," Griess said.
But Chaminade proved its worth by cutting a 17-point deficit to five in the game's final five minutes.
SDSU guard Wesley Stokes converted 3 of 4 free throws in the final 26 seconds to preserve the win. He finished with a game-high 19 points and five assists.
Aerick Sanders, a 6-foot-8 senior forward, had 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Aztecs. He grabbed 43 rebounds in the three games of the tournament.
"Aerick is a guy that never changes expressions," SDSU head coach Steve Fisher said. "Methodical in how he acts, but relentless in how he plays."
SDSU, which improved to 3-1, finished seventh in its only previous Maui Invitational in 1989.
Bryon Sykes and Chris Acker led Chaminade (1-2) with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
OHIO STATE 67, VILLANOVA 66: Tony Stockman scored 17 of his 23 points during the first half to lead the Buckeyes (2-2) past the depleted Wildcats (3-2) for the consolation title.
Ohio State opened the game with a 21-8 run and never relinquished the lead. Villanova rallied to cut the deficit to 64-63 with 1:28 remaining, but Stockman scored on a layup with 31 seconds left, and then Brandon Fuss-Cheatham added a free throw with nine seconds remaining to put Ohio State back in control at 67-63.
The Wildcats used just six players because five others were either injured or suspended. Allan Ray led Villanova with 21 points, and Randy Foye contributed 18 points and eight assists.
SANTA CLARA 76, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 62: Doron Perkins came off the bench to score 15 points, leading the Broncos (1-2) over the Chippewas (0-3) for seventh place.
The Chippewas played this week while mourning the death of teammate Brent Edwards, who died Tuesday following a car accident in Michigan on Monday. Edwards was a walk-on and was not on the travel roster.
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
