At halftime of Saturday's contest with conference rival BYUH, with his team holding a 36-25 lead off a Patrick Collier 3-pointer, Chaminade head coach Matt Mahar reminded his squad of one simple but definitive fact:

"I told them, 'you can't lose a championship tonight, you can only win one,' " Mahar said. "I just reminded them that they were 20 minutes from a championship."

And what a 20 minutes it was.

BYUH roared out of the locker room to take an eight-point lead midway through the half.

But the Silverswords, winners of a school-record-tying 18 wins heading into the game, showed the patience of the conference's top team in slowly chipping away at the lead.

Back-to-back baskets by Rodrick Johnson and Stewart Kussler tied the game at 65-65 with less than a minute to go.

A defensive stop returned the ball to Chaminade, setting up one final play with less than 15 seconds to go.

Hayden Heiber, the Silverswords' unflappable point guard, drove the lane for a layup but missed. Marko Kolaric grabbed the rebound for a put-back at the buzzer.

After a review by game officials, the basket was ruled good, sparking a wild celebration by the Chaminade faithful.

"Luke just volleyballed it in," Mahar said. "We had a good angle to see the shot clock, and we heard the buzzer go off after the shot left his hand, so we knew it was good. We were just stunned."

Mahar said the championship-clinching victory was particularly sweet considering the team's last PacWest title two years ago depended on opponents losing.

"I think this one had more meaning because we went out and won it," Mahar said.

Mahar said he knew his team had the potential to contend for the championship at the beginning of the season, but he also knew a title run would depend on his diverse collection of talent overcoming personal differences for the good of the team.

"When you bring in players from all over, including junior college players who all played for winning programs and were all 'the guy,' it can be rough," Mahar said. "Things were tough at the beginning and they argued all the time. It took a while, but eventually they came to appreciate their differences and they really came together."

That cohesiveness played a crucial role down the stretch as injuries left the Silverswords with just eight players.

Mahar loses six seniors from this year's squad, but he's optimistic about next year, when redshirts Darrell Birton and Jamar Berry, whom Mahar called "an absolute stud," join the squad.

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.