Hawai’i hangs on against Chaminade behind Bullock’s 23-point night

Hawai’i hangs on against Chaminade behind Bullock’s 23-point night

Oct 26, 2025

Hawai’i G Dre Bullock hangs on the rim after throwing down a fast break dunk against Chaminade. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Hawai’i hangs on against Chaminade behind Bullock’s 23-point night

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 26, 2025

HONOLULU – Popcorn prepared?

The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team closed out the preseason slate with on Saturday night, holding off a high-pressure Chaminade squad for a 93-87 exhibition victory inside Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Graduate transfer guard Dre Bullock dropped 23 points (9-13 FG) and grabbed eight rebounds in the win for the Rainbow Warriors.

Bullock poured in 15 of his 23 points after halftime, helping UH erase a 7-point deficit to win despite the team having an up-and-down offensive performance. Hunter Erickson scored all 10 of his points in the 2nd half, including back-to-back layups to put Hawai’i out in front late.

“First, want to give credit to Chaminade and their staff and their kids,” head coach Eran Ganot said after the win. “We were fortunate to finish strong, but we knew that coming in, their style of play, [the pressure], is hard to simulate.”

Hawai’i, who was without sophomore point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor but saw senior Gytis Nemeikša and freshman Hunter Carter return from injury, committed 22 turnovers as a team against the Silverswords’ full-court press and physical defense. Chaminade, who was selected to finish fourth in the 2025-26 PacWest preseason coaches’ poll, pressed from the opening tip and outscored UH on points off turnovers, 30-10.

“Definitely a little different, like the polar opposite of what we faced last game,” Erickson said when asked about CUH’s constant full-court pressure. “It kind of catches you off guard and they play the same way the entire game … it took us a minute to adjust but it’s a great prep for the rest of the year and being strong with the ball.”

The Rainbow Warriors made up for the sloppiness with the ball by dominating the glass, outrebounding the Silverswords 59-32 overall and 22-8 on the offensive boards. Hawai’i put up 50 of their 93 points in the paint and cleaned up with second-chance points with 24 after a miss.

Hawai’i got off to a quick start behind graduate transfer Tanner Cuff, who scored five of the Rainbow Warriors’ first nine points and assisted on another bucket in the early going. The 6-foot-7 guard stuffed the stat sheet for the second consecutive exhibition, racking up nine points, seven rebounds and six assists while turning the ball over four times in 29 minutes of action.

Chaminade’s Nathan Medina, who tallied 17 points for the Silverswords, brought the Division II visitors within a basket with 8:29 remaining in the opening frame as the Rainbow Warriors struggled to find an offensive rhythm against the pressure. Hawai’i was able to regain some breathing room with the help of forward Jalen Myers, who cleaned up a free throw miss from Carter to put UH back ahead by five and spark a 7-2 run.

Turnovers and more ugly shooting numbers from the Rainbow Warriors allowed CUH to climb back to end the first half as Medina drilled a pair of 3-pointers and finished a quick layup to make it a one-possession game at the midway break.

“[Chaminade] plays one way for 40 [minutes], up 10, down 10,” Ganot said postgame, alluding to the high-effort Run-and-Jump defense the Silverswords deploy. “We had a couple of those stretches where we needed to separate and here comes turnover, layup, turnover, layup and that’s something we can work on. But that’s why we play in these games.”

Bullock began the second half with a flurry of buckets, including his lone 3-pointer of the night that opened up a 52-45 lead for the Rainbow Warriors three minutes after play resumed.

“Honestly, just trying to do everything to win the game,” Bullock said of his performance in his first start at his new school. “We don’t take it lightly with [Chaminade], they’re a very good program so really just trying to play hard and get guys involved, shoot, rebound, do everything and just win.”

The Silverswords swung back with consecutive buckets from forward Nate Sasser III, knotting the game at 55 with 13:07 remaining before Sasser gave Chaminade the lead less than 30 seconds later by splitting a trip to the free throw line. Chico State transfer Isaiah Kerr, alongside Myers, helped keep Hawai’i from letting go of the rope with a few baskets to keep within striking distance as they fell down by seven with 8:31 left in regulation.  

Bullock reignited the Rainbow Warriors again as the clock ticked under eight minutes, hammering home a right-handed tomahawk jam along the baseline to cut the deficit to three for the hosts.

“I’ve told you guys about some of the explosiveness,” Ganot said about Bullock with a grin. “But I think he’s more than that.”

Erickson followed up Bullock’s high-flying act a few minutes later with a pair of transition layups that pushed UH ahead with 4:46 remaining. Nemeikša, who finished with eight points and a game-best 12 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench, gave Hawai’i the lead for good with 3:36 to play after putting back his own miss.

Despite struggling to a 24-of-38 clip from the free throw line overall, UH cashed in from the charity stripe in the clutch as Bullock, Cuff and Harry Rouhliadeff went a combined 9-for-10 at the line over the final 2:19 of action to seal the win.

Rouhliadeff finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for the Rainbow Warriors after being named the team’s captain for the 2025-26 season last week.

Kent King led the way for Chaminade, scoring 23 points for the visitors while pulling down a team-best nine rebounds in the loss. The Silverswords finished with four different players in double figures, seeing Sasser and RJ Banks join the fun with 14 points apiece. CUH will begin the regular season on the road on November 15, traveling to take on the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Isaiah Kerr finished with nine points, four rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes off the bench for the Rainbow Warriors, providing a physical presence on both ends of the floor when UH needed.

Rubber hits the road for Hawai’i next as the Rainbow Warriors travel to the continent to begin the regular season, heading to Eugune to face off against the University of Oregon on November 4. The trip to face the Ducks marks a rare road opener for the program, marking the first time since 2006 that UH will begin the regular season away from the islands and just the sixth time in the last 55 years.

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Mana Wahine Wednesday: Chaminade WBB & Tennis player Selena Buttery

Mana Wahine Wednesday: Chaminade WBB & Tennis player Selena Buttery

Oct 22, 2025

Chaminade G Selena Buttery (middle) poses with her family during an event for Project Grace for Kids, her Non-Profit in Pennsylvania. | Photo Credit: Selena Buttery

Mana Wahine Wednesday: Chaminade WBB & Tennis player Selena Buttery

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 22, 2025

HONOLULU – Chaminade’s Selena Buttery is no stranger to being extra involved.

From Brockway, Pennsylvania – a small town about two hours outside of Pittsburgh – the college senior is preparing to finish up her degree in data science more than 4,500 miles from where she grew up. Halfway across the world, playing two different college varsity sports and still crushing it in and around the classroom, her life remains just as busy back at home.

A member of the women’s basketball and women’s tennis programs, Buttery has a large chunk of her schedule spoken for with practices, weights, travel and competition already. Add in six Academic All-PacWest selections in her three years with the Silverswords, duties as the president of Chaminade’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a pristine 4.0 GPA, the senior still finds time to continue helping the kids back in Brockway.

Dating back to her junior year of high school, Buttery has run Project Grace for Kids, a 5013c Non-Profit in Pennsylvania. After taking a volunteer trip to Pittsburgh where she sorted various donated school supplies to distribute to kids in need, she saw an opportunity to give back in her hometown.

“Nobody was doing that on that kind of scale in my town,” Buttery remembered. “I thought I’ll just start up something really small … So, I created the name, it was called Project Grace, originally.”

Buttery, assisted by her parents, went on to put on what she described as a “quick little event” under the elementary school pavilion back in Brockway where students could come and get school supplies that had been donated to the cause. From there, Project Grace flourished into doing events nearly every season – including this year’s fifth annual Fall Fest coming up on October 25.

Buttery and three kids at Sunrise Coffee Bar in Brockway, PA for an event for Project Grace for Kids. | Photo Credit: Selena Buttery

Fall Fest, according to Buttery, involves a similar concept to the program’s school supplies distribution but with winter clothing for kids in need ahead of the snowy Pennsylvania winter months.

“We give gloves, scarves, winter items to kids,” she said. “But we also have them come and paint pumpkins and do a bunch of fun things so that it’s inclusive for all kids, whether you need [the event] socioeconomically or not.”

Despite being plopped in the middle of the ocean and preparing for the women’s basketball team’s regular season-opener on November 14, Buttery still is running Fall Fest from afar.

“My parents are really good about helping me,” she acknowledged. “Right now, my dad is the only one home, my mom is at the Pentagon, so he’s really helping me out a lot.”

Buttery still takes the lead, piecing together spreadsheets and schedules for arrivals to make for an easy list to follow for anyone willing to assist her in giving back. The motivation to continue her philanthropic efforts from across the globe despite already being as busy as possible comes from a very simple place.

“I really just like helping kids and working with them,” Buttery said plainly.

Giving back to the next generation is also part of the senior’s professional plan.

Originally a childhood education major at her arrival in the islands, Buttery switched to majoring in Data Science with the goal to ultimately end up working for UNICEF.

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, or UNICEF, has worked to advocate for and help children across various aspects of life for more than 80 years. With a specific interest in the education work, Buttery has already done multiple deep dives and analysis on UNICEF’s work in the field while studying at Chaminade.

“There’s really good opportunities here for that,” she said of CUH’s connections to UNITAR and getting involved with UNICEF.

Even with her charity efforts maxed out, Buttery persists on the courts and in classrooms. With a year left in the islands, she’s just trying to soak it all in – even if she needs to sneak in a little spreadsheet building and studying in with the few relaxing hours her schedule sometimes allows.

Buttery & teammates enjoy the beach together. | Photo Credit: Selena Buttery

Sharks spoil Swords’ PacWest dreams with spectacular Senior Night

Sharks spoil Swords’ PacWest dreams with spectacular Senior Night

Feb 28, 2025

The Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team poses together after “Senior Night” ceremonies inside the Shark Tank. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Sharks spoil Swords’ PacWest dreams with spectacular Senior Night

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 28, 2025

HONOLULU – One time for the seniors. 

The Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team celebrated six seniors in style on Thursday night, spoiling island rival Chaminade’s PacWest tournament dreams with a 95-76 victory inside the Shark Tank. Joshua West led the way in a balanced scoring effort by HPU, pouring in 16 points to go along with seven rebounds as the Sharks saw all five starters finish in double figures. 

HPU (14-14, 9-10 PacWest) recognized a group mixed with varying journeys to the islands in Jonas Visser, Pavle Kuzmanovic, Charlie Weber, Tucker Pellicci, Kordel Ng and Jakob Kimura in a large ceremony that followed the women’s game, a 74-62 victory for the Sharks, and concluded before warmups of the men’s contest. Visser, who had started all 27 games leading into Senior Night, went to the coaching staff ahead of Thursday’s contest and offered up his starting role in favor of the 5th-year veteran Pellicci, who hadn’t started a game for the Sharks since January of 2022. 

The coaching staff granted the captain’s request to start Pellicci, along with fellow seniors Charlie Weber, Kordel Ng and Jakob Kimura and junior Joshua West rounding out the first lineup for the Sharks. Despite different roles to begin the night, each player responded with strong scoring efforts as the quintet combined for 63 of the 95 points by HPU. 

From left to right: Jakob Kimura, Pavle Kuzmanovic, Charlie Weber, Jonas Visser, Tucker Pellicci and Kordel Ng pose together on Senior Night. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Weber turned in 15 points on an efficient 6-of-10 shooting performance, knocking down three of HPU’s 13 total 3-pointers in the season-high scoring effort. Pellicci recorded his first career double-double, scoring 10 points while pulling down 11 rebounds and blocking his team-leading 21st shot of the season. 

Kimura drilled a season-high four 3-pointers and had 12 points for the Sharks, feeling some of the leftover mana from his alma mater Punahou’s recent state championship run. Fellow local boy Kordel Ng, who once played for the now-closed St. Francis High School team inside the Shark Tank, closed out his tenure in the cozy gym with 10 points and a season-best six assists. 

Chaminade (16-11, 10-10 PacWest) looked to spoil the celebration themselves on a night with plenty to gain and even more to lose for the Silverswords, blitzing HPU out of the gate with six 3-point makes in the opening six minutes of action. After falling down by as many as 17, back-to-back buckets from Jonas Visser helped calm the Sharks as they started to work their way closer with some of their own sweet 3-point shooting. 

“Credit to Chaminade,” Nakanishi said of the Sharks’ slow start. “They have really good players and really good shot makers and boy – did they make shots in that first segment.”

Kimura’s first 3-pointer of the game brought HPU within two before Ng’s lone triple of the night gave the Sharks their first lead of the night with under five minutes to play in the first half, 38-37. Another three from Kimura capped off an 11-0 run by HPU, forcing Chaminade to call for timeout as the packed-out Shark Tank tested how loud it could get. 

The Swords recovered momentarily, keeping within a few points before Visser and Weber helped Hawaii Pacific finish the half in a hurry and head into the locker room leading, 49-43. The Sharks connected on 50% of their looks from behind the arc across the opening 20 minutes, draining eight 3-pointers to help offset the early barrage from the Swords. 

HPU started the second half far stronger offensively, holding off the Chaminade push with another Kimura three, an Ng and-one and a seven-point spurt from Weber in the first six minutes out of the break to help extend the advantage for the Sharks into double figures for the first time all night. 

The Silverswords wouldn’t go down quietly, fighting back to pull within six points with six and a half minutes left in regulation after consecutive buckets from the King brothers, but another Weber 3-pointer and a massive two-handed putback dunk by Pellicci stopped the Swords’ momentum cold. HPU’s defense locked in over the final few minutes, only allowing two points in the last 4:08 of play to the visitors.  

Tucker Pellicci provides the exclamation point on Senior Night with a putback slam dunk. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Kent King led the way in a losing effort for the Silverswords, racking up a game-high 17 points while RJ Banks added 13 points. Kameron Ng, the older brother of HPU’s Kordel, finished the night with 10 points, four boards and three assists in his final collegiate game. 

Jonas Visser put up eight points and 11 rebounds in just 15 minutes off the bench while Pavle Kuzmanovic put up eight points with a pair of 3-pointers himself. All 10 HPU players who saw time ended up scoring and helped the Sharks dominate on the glass, doubling up the Swords in rebounds, 56-28. 

“I’m so proud and happy for these guys, especially those six seniors that really gave me everything and gave their teammates everything all year long,” Nakanishi said after the game. “[The team] has done everything we’ve asked. Yeah, we fell short for the season as far as getting into the playoffs but tonight was really a glimpse of some of the basketball potential that we really had but didn’t quite produce all year.” 

HPU closes out its season on Saturday, visiting UH-Hilo on the Big Island with eyes on a season sweep of the PacWest Tournament-bound Vulcans. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. HT and can be seen on the PacWest Network with purchase of access. 

Elmasri powers Chaminade over HPU in close game, 73-69

Elmasri powers Chaminade over HPU in close game, 73-69

Dec 14, 2024

Elmasri powers Chaminade over HPU in close game, 73-69

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 14, 2024

Visiting Hawai’i Pacific started off slow before putting together a furious comeback attempt late against host Chaminade.

But Sameera Elmasri had other plans.

The senior forward scored a career-high 27 points and knocked down 10 of 11 free throw attempts to help the Silverswords hold off the Sharks, 73-69, Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 124 in a PacWest Conference matchup at McCabe Gymnasium.

Elmasri did work in all four quarters to help the Silverswords improve to 3-5 overall and 2-0 in PacWest play.

She started things off with an assist to Maddy Weaver for Chaminade’s first basket and then later picked up a steal that led to a Julien Parado layup for a 4-0 lead. Elmasri also hit on a jumper and pair of free throws late in the opening quarter helped the Silverswords take a 24-14 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.

Her second quarter was a quiet one, but a jumper in the paint gave Chaminade a 38-21 lead, its largest of the game at that point, at the 4:08 mark of the period.

The third quarter was when Elmasri really started to get cooking.

On the first three Silverswords’ possession of the second half, Elmasri hit a 3-point shot and back-to-back free throws before scoring on a fast break layup to make it a 49-30 game.

The Sharks (3-3, 1-1) trimmed the deficit to 11 midway through the third quarter, which prompted Elmasri to knock down two straight shot to push the lead back to 53-38.

HPU did not go quietly however as the visitors cut the deficit down to 10 heading into the fourth quarter.

By pushing the pace, the Sharks clawed their way back into the contest and even took the lead on an Ella Berge layup to go up 69-68, with 2:22 remaining in regulation.

But HPU could not get anything going the rest of the way as Elmasri converted on her final four free throw attempts for the final point total.

Dezaray Carter scored 12 points and Morgan Escobedo had nine to round out the top scorers for Chaminade, who saw nine different players register points.

Erika Glenn led the Sharks off the bench with 17 points in 16 minutes before having to leave the game with an apparent knee injury.

Silverswords cruise past the Sharks, 78-64

Silverswords cruise past the Sharks, 78-64

Dec 14, 2024

Silverswords cruise past the Sharks, 78-64

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 14, 2024

This one turned into a track meet on dry land.

Chaminade handled cross town rival Hawai’i Pacific in convincing fashion with a 78-64 win Saturday evening in a PacWest conference matchup before a crowd of 237 at McCabe Gymnasium.

A quartert of players finished in double figures for the Silverswords, who improved to 7-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Kent King had 19 points off the bench and Roland Banks II notched a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead Chaminade.

Also scoring in double digits were Jackson Last with 11 points and Jamir Thomas added 10 more off the bench.

A trio of players finished with 14 points or more for the Sharks, who dropped to 5-5 and 1-1.

Charlie Weber had 16 points off the bench, Sherman Brashear 15 and Joshua West for HPU.

Nationally ranked Chaminade waltzes past Hawai’i Pacific in four sets

Nationally ranked Chaminade waltzes past Hawai’i Pacific in four sets

Oct 19, 2024

No. 10 Chaminade celebrates after a point during 3-1 victory at Hawai’i Pacific. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Nationally ranked Chaminade waltzes past Hawai’i Pacific in four sets 

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 19, 2024

HONOLULU – Keep on keeping on. 

The Hawai’i Pacific University women’s volleyball team fell at home in four sets (25-23, 25-16, 25-11, 25-18) against No. 10 Chaminade (16-4, 9-0 PacWest) on Friday night, taking the first set against the Silverswords before dropping the next three for the Sharks’ sixth consecutive loss. Chaminade graduate setter Grace Talpash earned “Timmy T’s Grinder of the Game” honors after tallying 30 assists and seven digs in the victory for the Silverswords. 

Graduate student Grace Talpash sets up a teammate for an attack during Chaminade’s 4-set win at Hawai’i Pacific. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

HPU (1-15, 1-9 PacWest) started strong by taking the opening frame, 25-23, behind a .321 hitting percentage and only three errors as a unit. Chaminade committed nine errors in the first set, helping the Sharks snap a 16-set losing streak to the Swords that had been going for the better part of three years.  

The Silverswords looked closer to the nationally notable form they have shown this year in the second set, scoring 12 of the final 17 points in the frame to knot the match at one apiece. 

It was more of the same in the third set for Chaminade, hitting .435 as a team while dominating the Sharks in the stanza with a 25-11 victory to take a 2-1 set lead. 

Hawai’i Pacific showed some grit and toughness in the fourth and final set before finally dropping the frame, 25-18. Chaminade displayed defensive chops in the stanza with a run of five blocks in six points, though HPU closed out the set scoring four of the final six points of the match. 

The Sharks were led by Ella Schoene’s eight kills on 14 swings as the sophomore committed one single error across her four sets of action, adding a team-high four block assists for the hosts. Marley Sandoval added eight kills of her own on 26 attempts, committing eight hitting errors on the night as well. 

Chaminade returns to action on Saturday night against UH-Hilo, looking to remain unbeaten in PacWest play. HPU will play host to the Vulcans on the following day, seeing UH-Hilo visit the Shark Tank for a 2:00 p.m. match on Sunday.