UCLA used a dominant effort inside to overcome perimeter shooting and turnover woes and down Chaminade 76-48 in consolation-bracket action Tuesday at the Maui Invitational in Honolulu.
The Bruins (4-1) shot just 7-of-22 from beyond the 3-point arc and committed 18 turnovers — 14 in the first half. But a 38-4 advantage in points in the paint gave UCLA the overall edge it needed to hold off the Silverswords.
With the win, UCLA will face No. 11 Gonzaga in Wednesday’s fifth-place game. Chaminade will take on Syracuse in the seventh-place game.
Chaminade (1-4), a Division II program and traditional host of the event, sought its first Maui Invitational win since a 2017 rout of Cal. Jamir Thomas paced the upset-minded Silverswords with a game-high 17 points and shot 5-of-11 from 3-point range, including a pull-up that brought Chaminade to within 10 points with 14:24 remaining in the second half.
The Silverswords came no closer, and UCLA went on a 14-0 run during the closing minutes that put the game away.
Sebastian Mack led the Bruins with 16 points. He also came away with five steals.
Mack’s defensive effort was part of 13 total Chaminade turnovers. And while UCLA’s 18 were just two shy of the Bruins’ season high, committed in the season-opening win Nov. 6 vs. Saint Francis, UCLA’s 20 points off turnovers were just one fewer than Chaminade totaled.
Lazar Stefanovic scored 13 points for UCLA before fouling out, Adem Bona added 12 points and Dylan Andrews and Berke Buyuktuncel each scored nine points.
The Bruins’ Aday Mara scored six points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, with four coming on the offensive end. UCLA had 17 total offensive rebounds to Chaminade’s seven, and the Bruins had a 15-3 edge in second-chance points.
Ross Reeves scored 11 points for Chaminade and Isaac Amaral-Artharee chipped in eight points despite shooting just 2-of-11 from the floor. Overall, the Silverswords shot 15-of-58 on field-goal attempts.
–Field Level Media
