Box Score (photo by Jay Metzger)

HONOLULU, Hawai`i--An ice cold shooting night against a team that was well rested and red hot was a bad combination for Hawaii Hilo on Saturday at McCabe Gymnasium. 

Host Chaminade had a torrid finish at the end of the first half and didn't cool off much after that on their way to a 97-76 victory over the Vulcans. It was the first loss of the year for UH Hilo, who is now 2-1 overall and 2-1 in the Pacific West Conference. It was the season opener for the Silverswords, who had games scheduled last weekend against Hawaii Pacific postponed. The two teams will square off again on Sunday, this time at 4 pm.

Chaminade hadn't played a game in nearly 11 months, but it didn't show tonight. They buried 11 of 22 three-point attempts and hit 12 of 15 free throw opportunities. The Vulcans had numbers of a different kind, shooting 36 percent from the field, 22 percent from three-point range (5-of-23), and 13-of-20 from the free throw line.

Sasa Vuksanovic led the Vulcans with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Darren Williams had 14 points as well, and freshman Ethan Jetter chipped in 13. Kevin Kremer led the Silverswords with 20 points and Hawai`i transfer Jessiya Villa added 17. 

The Vulcans jumped out to a 10-4 lead early in the game but soon it would be all Silverswords in the first half. At the 10:21 mark, a put-back by Kia`i Apele gave the Vulcans their last lead of the game at 20-19.

With a little over five minutes left before the break, Chaminade went on a blitz that ultimately would define the game. The hosts went on a 11-0 run and stretched that to 14-3 before UHH's Williams scored right before the end of the half. The Silverswords went into the locker room up 52-37, having nailed 7-of-11 three-point attempts in the first 20 minutes.

Conversely, the Vulcans were stone cold, hitting only one trey in ten tries, and converting only four of ten free throw attempts. They also shot just 41 percent from the field.

In the second half, Chaminade extended its lead to 64-42 by the first media timeout. They would push that margin to 86-61 with a little over five minutes to play. 11 different players would score in the game for the Silverswords, who finished 18-11 last year and reached the PacWest tournament semifinals.