LAHAINA » Channeling the spirit of college basketball upset icons past — and present in the Lahaina Civic Center — Chaminade did it again.
With Tony Randolph and Ralph Sampson watching in house for the 30th anniversary of the Silverswords’ win over top-ranked Virginia, Chaminade pulled off a modern-day stunner, 86-73 over Texas in the quarterfinals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational on Monday.
Senior guard De’Andre Haskins authored the ‘Swords seventh all-time victory in the signature event of the small Division II school. He poured in 27 of his career-high 32 points after halftime, going 7-for-11 from the field, 14-for-15 at the free-throw line and 4-for-6 on 3-pointers.
Second-year Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird was all smiles afterward.
"It was just kind of unique, because after I accepted this job, I would say there haven’t been two or three days gone by without somebody asking me about … the Chaminade victory over Virginia," Bovaird said. "I figured with a big win like this tonight, that some of those questions might stop coming. Maybe we’ll be talking about the Texas victory 30 years from now. At least I hope."
It’s the first time since beating Villanova in 2003 that Chaminade advanced to the semifinals. The ‘Swords — now 7-76 on Maui since the event’s advent in 1984 — have never won two games here in the same year, but get a chance to change that at 5:30 p.m. today against Illinois (4-0).
It didn’t look like the classic upset formula at the outset. The team coming off an 11-14 season and picked to finish sixth in the Pacific West Conference had to rally from an 8-0 hole and 0-for-10 shooting start. But the ‘Swords scrapped their way back in it by making it a test of grit — and they won that decisively by hitting the hardwood repeatedly for loose balls.
The Longhorns of the Big 12 entered the day just outside of the Associated Press Top 25. By night’s end, all Texas coach Rick Barnes could do was shake his head at his team’s effort and say, "I don’t even think the score is indicative of how much better they played.
"We played scared. I don’t feel sorry for us. We got what we deserved."
The Silverswords shot only 36.8 percent to 46.4 for Texas, but sank 10 3-pointers and completed an amazing 34 of 39 (87.2 percent) at the stripe, which was big down the stretch when Texas pressed and started fouling. In Chaminade’s previous game, against defending D-II champion Western Washington, the ‘Swords were a paltry 15-for-31 at the line in a 10-point loss.
"I was a little worried about that myself," Bovaird said. "(But) it was a little bit of focus. I had faith in these guys."
Perhaps most impressive, these giant-slaying ‘Swords — who have no player taller than 6-foot-8— outrebounded Texas 43-35. Texas came in with a plus-18.5 rebound margin in two wins, but the 6-4 Haskins (nine boards) finished tied for the game high despite game-long foul trouble.
Haskins started in Chaminade’s 68-64 win over Oklahoma in the 2010 seventh-place game. But the former Valparaiso player from Long Beach, Calif., wasn’t a key figure, scoring seven points on 2-for-8 shooting in that one.
He missed all of last season with a foot fracture, whetting his appetite for one more crack on Maui’s big stage.
"I envisioned the Maui Invitational. That’s one of the biggest tournaments in America this time of year," Haskins said. "I came out here to show everybody that I’m not just a regular Division II player. I can play on that (D-I) level, all of our guys can compete on that level, together."
Chaminade got a big lift from freshman forward Kevin Hu, who scored 16 points off the bench. When he buried a step-back 3-pointer in a nine-point first half, Hu had sideline watchers scrambling for media guides, wondering, "Kevin who?"
The 6-foot-6 native of Taiwan exulted in the crowd’s "Huuuuuuu!" chants, waving them on for support.
"Kevin is one of the funniest guys you’ll ever meet. His energy is contagious," ‘Swords point guard Dominique Cooks said. "Tonight … we couldn’t hit a shot to start the (first) half. He came in and really got us going. He made shots and I think that’s when we started to believe, OK, we can beat these guys."
Chaminade took a 31-27 lead into halftime.
"I think I kind of knew after the first half," Haskins said. "We weren’t making shots, they weren’t making shots, so it was whoever came out the hardest in the second half. I was telling everybody in the locker room, ‘Come out harder than they do. So that’s exactly what we did.’"
Haskins sank two 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half, giving Chaminade a 10-point lead. It swelled to 19 points before Texas, in scramble mode, got within 71-62 with 2:16 to play.
Chaminade closed it out by converting 13 of 14 free throws.
Texas is one of just six schools to have made the last 14 NCAA Tournaments.
The young Longhorns — their roster has two seniors, then all sophomores and freshmen — seemed rattled when they couldn’t put Chaminade away early. Each member of their young starting five turned it over at least two times. Top scorer Sheldon McClellan came in averaging 22.5 points, but shot 3-for-11 for 14 points.
One of the most glaring mistakes was when Barnes called a timeout to set up a play early in the second half, only to see his unaware players succumb to a shot-clock violation.
No. 9 North Carolina 95, Mississippi State 49
Fresh off a bump up two spots in Monday’s AP Top 25 poll, the Tar Heels (4-0) showed themselves worthy by burying 15 3-pointers against the Bulldogs (1-2) in their 10th straight Maui win.
Riding a dominant first five minutes, UNC turned it into 35 minutes of garbage time. P.J. Hairston banked in a 55-footer at the halftime buzzer for a 49-17 lead and the Heels cruised from there.
