Straight forward and un-sugarcoated. It’s how Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird presented some facts to his Silverswords basketball players as the team prepared for Friday’s NCAA Division II West Regional game in Bellingham, Wash.
Fact: Eighth-seeded Chaminade (20-9) faces top-seed and host Western Washington (27-2) in the last of four quarterfinals at Sam Carver Gym.
Fact: Western Washington, ranked No. 2 nationally, returns four starters from last year’s title squad, including senior guard John Allen, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a candidate for D-II national player of the Year.
Fact: The Vikings are not invincible. They lost last Saturday — as the Silverswords did — in the final of the conference tournament, also held at Carver Gym.
And, last one: The Vikings defeated the Silverswords at McCabe Gym 93-83 back on Nov. 14, a game that WWU led by 10 at intermission and Chaminade was never able to get closer than six the rest of the way.
Still …
"I have a good feeling about this game," Bovaird said. "I watched (videotape) of that game four times since then and we weren’t very good. I saw a lot of weaknesses that we have worked on.
"We have progressed so much since then, are so much better than we were in November. We have a confident bunch of guys and I am feeling confident, too."
Bovaird believes one other thing to be a fact. That Chaminade beat a much better team than Western Washington in the opener of last November’s Maui Invitational: Division I Texas.
Senior guard De’Andre Haskins scored a game-high 32 points and freshman forward Kevin Hu came off the bench for 16 in the 86-73 upset of the Longhorns. Key to the win was the 34-for-39 effort from the line, including Haskins going 14-for-15.
As a team, Chaminade is averaging 73 percent from the line, and was 80 percent (20-for-25) in last Saturday’s 92-80 loss to Dixie State. The Silverswords led by as many as six midway through the second half, but missed defensive assignments, according to Bovaird, helping the Red Storm pull away.
"Everything starts with defense," the second-year coach said. "We’ve been pretty good at that down the stretch, going 14-2 after Christmas.
"What we need Friday is to play smart. We’ve got a well-balanced team, but we’re also one of the most undersized teams in the country. The challenge is out to our guys."
The biggest task has been given to sophomore guard Lee Bailey, who will defend the 6-1 Allen, a transfer from Washington State and pre-season All-American averaging 17.3 points and 4.0 assists.
Chaminade counters with the 6-4 Haskins, the PacWest Player of the Year, and an unconventional five-guard starting lineup. That latter move was dictated by the loss of starting forward Rhys Murphy, a 6-7 junior transfer from Oregon State, who broke his foot the first day of practice after Christmas.
"We know we have a challenge, but, as I told the guys after practice, we’re playing a really good team, one we’ve lost to, but they aren’t as good as Texas," Bovaird said. "We’ve already beaten a better team this year. They know they are capable."
