In a back-and-forth overtime battle that had six lead changes and came down to the final seconds, the Chaminade men’s basketball team beat Vanguard 78–77 Tuesday night in overtime at McCabe Gymnasium.
Chaminade faced early adversity after falling behind by 13 points with 11:36 remaining in the first half. The Silverswords responded with a steady comeback, erasing the deficit and tying the game late in regulation.
“We didn’t crack under pressure. Down 10, down 5, tied, we stayed calm and confident in each and our ability to win the game” said Nathan Medina, who is a senior guard who scored 22 points in the win.
Chaminade Junior forward Nate Sasser III provided a key spark off the bench, finishing with 10 points and five rebounds. His biggest contribution came in overtime, when he scored the game-winning basket on a layup from the left block off an inbounds pass from Chaminade senior guard Roland Banks II with 1.5 seconds remaining.
The overtime victory pushed the Silverswords to 5–1 in PacWest play, keeping them atop the conference standings and improving their overall record to 7–5.
In the final seconds of regulation, Medina made both free throws with nine seconds left to give the Silverswords a three-point lead. Vanguard’s Carson Frawley answered by drilling a three-pointer from the right wing with four seconds remaining, tying the game and forcing overtime
Chaminade University shot 66 percent from the free-throw line, while Vanguard shot 84 percent. The Silverswords also had trouble scoring from the outside, making only 6 of 21 three-point attempts and went 26 of 68 from the field. Chaminade missed several open shots and went through long stretches without scoring, which made it difficult to build momentum on offense. Even with those struggles, the Silverswords found a way to win the game.
“I think us staying together when things went wrong at the beginning of the game is what defined this win,” said Sasser. “I think we executed the last play well; RJ threw a great pass to me to win the game at the end.”
Also, Chaminade senior guards Kent King contributed with 15 points with the help of Roland Banks ll with 14 points.
“That was a tough game, but the players fought all the way until the end,” said Chaminade head coach Eric Bovaird. “Sasser stepped up when his number was called to win the game winning layup to put us up one in overtime.”
Chaminade has now beaten Vanguard twice this season.
The Chaminade men’s basketball team plays Menlo 3-12 at McCabe Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night.