HONOLULU, HAWAII — Brian Chambers led the Concordia Men's Basketball team (7-2, 1-0 PWC) to victory in Honolulu, Hawaii for the 2017-2018 PacWest conference opener against the Chaminade University Silverswords (4-3, 0-1 PWC). Chaminade was picked sixth in the preseason poll, just 22 points behind Concordia, after going 13-7 in conference play last year. The Silverswords returned Austin Pope, who was chosen for the Preseason All-PacWest team after averaging 12.1 points and 8.8 rebounds last season.
Brian Chambers led the Eagles with 38 total points, two steals, two assists, and three rebounds. Tad Dufelmeier grabbed five rebounds and five assists. JT Roach posted 17 total points with three steals and five rebounds.
With tonights point total, Chambers landed himself in the Concordia Individual Game record book tied for fifth place in the category for most points. The guard is among good company with fellow Eagles and 38 point scorers Derwin Appleberry (1986) and Tim Harris (2013).
At the start of the game, both teams battled back and forth for points. Chambers started the Eagles off with a layup and a three pointer. JT Roach hit a three pointer in the 16th minute that gave Concordia its first lead of the game, 10-9.
The Eagles continued to press the Silverswords defense adding points from Chambers and Tyler Lacour. Chambers then dunked the ball bringing his point total to 11 points just 10 minutes into the first half. Not a minute later, Chambers hit his second three pointer of the night followed up by a JT Roach layup giving Concordia a ten point lead.
Lacour drained a three pointer assisted by Denzel Holt with eight minutes remaining.
A trio of three pointers by Chambers and Roach (2) rounded out the scoring for the Eagles. The teams headed to halftime with a 43-33 Eagles lead. Chambers racked up 19 points in the first half.
Concordia's offense kept Chaminade under pressure in the second half. Chambers tossed two layups to kick start the momentum.
The Silverswords came within three points of the Eagles lead but a strong defense held them off and a strong offense pushed through.
With three minutes left, Chambers hit a three pointer assisted by Tad Dufelmeier. Soon after, Cameron English finished the match for CUI with a layup and an Eagles win over Chaminade University 80-75.
"I was proud of the way our guys competed in a really tough road environment to open conference. Chaminade is as talented as a team as there is in our conference, so this was a hard fought victory," Head Coach Ken Ammann said. "Chambers was phenomenal for us tonight, not just because of his 38 points, but also his defense on Austin Pope who is one of the most talented guards in our Conference. Brian had an extremely high level performance."
UP NEXT
The Eagles continue their Hawaiian road trip with another PacWest matchup at Hawaii Pacific University on Saturday December 2nd. Tip off is scheduled for 5:00pm PST.
