box score
audio - coach sydney johnson & noah savage
The Chaminade Silverswords led from start to finish in the 7th Place Game of the 2007 EA Sports Maui Invitational, holding off several Princeton runs in a 74-70 victory for the host school.
The win was the first in the Maui Invitational for Chaminade since 2003 when the Silverswords defeated Villanova 52-49.
Rodrick Johnson and Stewart Kussler each had 19 points for Chaminade. 7'0" Serbian center Marko Kolaric recorded his third straight double-double, tallying 15 points and snatching 11 rebounds.
Senior co-captain Noah Savage paced three Tigers in double figures with 20 points, including 6-11 from deep. The Tigers converted 15 three point shots in the game on 29 chances. Zach Finley had 16 inside along with seven blocks and classmate Lincoln Gunn contributed 15 of his own, all in the second half.
It was an evenly matched, well-played game between two very similar teams. If you ignored the tropical banner at the ocean-end side of the Lahaina Civic Center, the game could have easily been mistaken for a heated Ivy League battle. Savage agreed with that assessment following the game "Chaminade seemed like a league team in a lot of ways" he said. "They have a couple of shooters and they have a good center. They just flat out compete."
The Tigers missed their first seven shots against Chaminade, putting Princeton in a 8-0 hole when Johnson hit a three point shot right in Kyle Koncz's face.
An inbounds play to Noah Savage outside ended the Tigers' shooting woes and Princeton was on the board at the 14:34 mark.
Unlike against Arizona State, Princeton tried to involve center Zach Finley out of the elbow and the high post. The offense flowed through Finley, leading to posting up for hook shots down low and perimeter jumpers by his teammates on the outside. Finley was 8-16 from the field, scoring in a variety of ways using both hands.
Finley and Savage combined for Princeton's first 13 points as the Tigers had trouble getting other players involved. When Savage sized up a deep triple behind a Finley screen the Tigers trailed 15-13. Princeton missed two chances to move in front as Savage's heat check jumper and Matt Sargeant's try following a Nick Lake offensive rebound were both off the mark.
Sargeant's trey behind an Alex Okafor screen was true with 4:20 to go in the first half and Princeton was within 22-19. Five straight for the Silverswords gave Chaminade their largest lead of the first half. Hayden Heiber got in the paint and was fouled by Sargeant while scoring. A Heiber runner off the glass made it a three possession afternoon.
Nick Lake's putback beat the final buzzer and the Tigers headed upstairs to their locker room down 34-29. Princeton was 11-29 from the field in the first half (37.9%) while Chaminade was 13-25 (52.0%). Both teams shot well from outside. The Tigers went 7-15 (46.7%) and the Silverswords 4-7 (57.1%).
It was Princeton ball to start the second half. Finley scored inside to scratch the lead down to three but Kussler answered with a layup at the other end. Finley felt a double team coming down low and waited to feed Gunn in the corner for his first basket and Princeton had closed to 36-34.
While Princeton's offense was clicking following intermission, the Tigers could not get stops on defense. A lob to Kolaric doubled Chaminade's lead. Savage connected on a baseline jumper, earning a swat on his backside from his coach as he ran back down the court. Kolaric's shot in the paint doubled the edge in the Silverswords' favor.
Princeton was the first team to miss in the second half. Gunn's line drive jumper from behind the arc was off. A transition chance for Princeton was missed the next time the Tigers touched the ball when Gunn could not finish a drive on the outlet.
An diagonal alley-oop pass to Johnson for a two-handed slam from Bussey Ellis put Princeton down 44-36.
Savage's fifth three came at the same time the officials were calling Kussler for a foul trying to fight through a Princeton screen. The Tigers retained possession. An open Koncz three was short and the lead stayed at five.
With Kolaric getting a breather on the bench, Finley found Koncz out of another double team to move Princeton within four. Finley blocked Dan Wendt at the opposite end of the court, but the Tigers' chance to close the gap bounced off of Finley's knee and out of bounds on a feed into the lane.
Kolaric returned to the court and saw his errant jumper grabbed by Kussler, who was fouled going back up. Both free throws were good and the lead was six. Kussler's three point shot in front of the Chaminade bench boosted the lead to nine for the first time.
Back came the Tigers. Gunn's three on a designed inbounds made the score 56-50. A second alley-oop attempt for Johnson sailed over his hands and out-of-bounds. Gunn fed Finley for a layup. After Heiber pulled up in the lane for two, Gunn scored on a high lefty bank. Finley also used the glass from the left side and the Tigers had crawled within 58-56 at the 4:12 mark.
As two Tigers in the post both tried to dive for an entry pass sent by Kolaric, Johnson took the feed behind the defense and slammed the ball home with two hands. Gunn tried a jumper just beyond free throw range that was off to the left. Kussler posted up and scored and finally Johnson sneaked behind Koncz as a pass whipped past his shaved head for another layup that pushed Princeton down 64-56.
Three point shots by Savage and Gunn in the game's final thirty seconds made the score 70-68, but Chaminade converted their final six free throw attempts to finish off their victory.
Notes:
-Finley's seven blocks were a Maui Invitational record.
-Princeton lost for the first time when scoring 70+ points in regulation since an 88-74 defeat to Brown in March of 2003.
-The two teams combined for 31 assists and just 11 turnovers. Princeton was 12:6, Chaminade 19:5.
-Chaminade outrebounded its opponent for the third straight game of the tournament. The Silverswords had a 30-26 edge on the boards.
-The host school improves to 5-65 in Maui Invitational play.
-Princeton returns to the mainland later tonight and will host Big East foe Seton Hall a week from today at Jadwin Gym.
