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Chaminade is returning to the NCAA postseason.
James Harper made nine 3-pointers and finished with 31 points to lead the Silverswords to a 99-83 win over Dominican (Calif.) in the championship game of the Pacific West Conference men’s basketball tournament in San Diego on Saturday.
The fifth-seeded Silverswords (19-12) earn the league’s automatic berth to this week’s NCAA Division II Western Regional. Seedings will be announced Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Chaminade lost in last year’s PacWest final, but earned an at-large berth to the regional tournament, where it lost to Western Washington.
Harper went 9-for-12 from 3-point range and finished 10-for-15 from the field. Kiran Shastri made five of eight 3s and finished with 19 points off the bench as the Silverswords went 15-for-26 on 3-point attempts. Tournament MVP Lee Bailey had 14 points and nine assists, and Tyree Harrison added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Chaminade.
Myles Carrillo and Matt Hayes each scored 19 points for the second-seeded Penguins (22-8). Harper’s second 3-pointer put the Silverswords ahead 8-5 in the first half, and they never trailed again. Harper made all five of his 3-point attempts in the first half to help Chaminade take a 50-39 lead into halftime.
Harper, Shastri and Hawaii Pacific’s Farbod Farman were named to the all-tournament team.
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