LAHAINA » The Christophe Craze took hold in the Lahaina Civic Center and didn’t let go.

Chaminade senior guard Christophe Varidel dazzled the crowd and frazzled No. 18 Baylor, scoring 31 of his 42 points in the first half and tying an EA Sports Maui Invitational record with 10 3-pointers overall.

Alas, the Division II Silverswords fell 93-77 to the Bears, who used their superior size to devastating effect in the paint. The hosts could not make it back-to-back years of advancing to the semifinals at the expense of big-name opposition.

The final score almost didn’t matter, as most in the building shouted at Varidel, a 6-foot-3 Florida Gulf Coast transfer, to jack up shots off the dribble at every opportunity once he nailed six of his first seven from deep.

He just missed the tournament scoring record of 43, set by former Gonzaga forward Adam Morrison in 2005.

"You know, this is a great tournament, and you think about the history of the 30 years," Silverswords coach Eric Bovaird said. "For one of our players to have a shot at a record like that … I wanted him to have a shot."

Varidel ended up tying Notre Dame’s Kyle McAlarney with 10 3-pointers, set in 2008 against North Carolina.

"I’d trade that for the W tonight, that’s for sure," Varidel said. "But I’m really thankful to Coach Bovaird because I know he has huge confidence in me. That’s something I don’t think I had in my previous years of college basketball. … The coach always told me not to dribble too much or just catch and shoot, not more than one or two dribbles. I always knew I could do a little bit more."

Varidel averaged 6.1 points at Florida Gulf Coast — the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 sensation last March. His previous best against a D-I foe was 29 as a freshman.

The native of Switzerland checked out with 13.1 seconds left with his feat announced on the loudspeakers. Even Baylor’s fans applauded. He finished 14-for-29 from the field, 10-for-16 on 3s and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line.

Varidel flashed a three-fingered bull’s-eye salute over an eye at delirious Chaminade students on his way to the locker room at the half, trailing just 50-47. He hit 7-for-10 from long range in the period.

Eleventh-year Baylor coach Scott Drew could not recall such a performance against one of his teams.

"First half I kept thinking of that word ‘Maui Magic’ because Christophe was definitely on fire and Chaminade always has a good team," Drew said.

But the Bears slowed Varidel down after the break by face-guarding and denying him.

Chaminade plays Gonzaga today in the consolation semifinals at 11:30 a.m.