HONOLULU, Hawai'i – The Western Washington University men's basketball team received double-double performances from Trevor Jasinsky and Luke Lovelady, but the Vikings came up short in a 74-66 defeat against undefeated and 20^th-ranked Chaminade University Sunday evening in the first round of the Hoops in Hawai'i D2 Power Invitational at the Hawai'i Convention Center.

The Vikings (7-3) used a late first-half rally to trail 31-30 at the half, and led briefly in the second half before the undefeated Silverswords (8-0) used a 9-0 run to help pull away for the victory. 

WWU was led by the 17 points and 14 rebounds from Jasinsky (Camas, WA), who recorded his second career double-double, with both coming in the last two games. Lovelady (Tacoma, WA/Life Christian Academy) added 13 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

Overall the Vikings were limited to a season-low field goal percentage of 32.4%, connecting on 23-of-71 shots from the floor and were 5-for-24 (20.8%) from 3-point range. 

Chaminade was led by a 25-point, 12-rebound double-double by senior forward Eric Scheive, and 22 points from senior guard Grant Dressler.

The Vikings trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half at 26-13, fueled by a 19-7 Chaminade run to pull away from a 7-6 game, but the Vikings battled back to tail by only one point at the half 31-30. WWU ended the half on a 17-5 run, capped by a last-second 3-pointer by KJ Bosco to pull the Vikings to within one point heading into the break. Jalen Green led the Vikings with 7 points, with Tyler Payne and Trevor Jasinskyeach scoring 6 points. 

The Vikings gained a one-point lead at 43-42 on a pair of free throw shots by KJ Bosco with 14:53 remaining in the game, but Chaminade responded by going on a 9-0 run capped by a Andre Arissol 3-pointer to take a 51-43 lead. WWU climbed back to within one point at 55-54 going on a 11-4 run, but Chaminade answered with a 9-2 run to keep the advantage in its favor the rest of the way.

WWU will play No. 11 Southern Nazarene (9-2) on Monday at 1:15 pm HT/3:15 pm PT in the Hoops in Hawai'i D2 Power Invitational. Southern Nazarene was defeated by Dallas Baptist 79-78 in the first game of the eight-team, round robin tournament on Sunday. Links to the live webcast for each game can be found online atscoringlive.com/hoopsinhawaii.

WWU will serve as the host for the 2019 GNAC Championships, with the top six teams in both the men's and women's conference standings at the end of the season qualifying for the tournament that will be held March 7-9 on WECU Court in Carver Gym. 

Fans can follow the men's basketball team online at WWUVikings.com/MBB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUHoops) and Facebook (@WWUmensbball).

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 10 seasons. WWU is a six-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and has appeared in the NCAA II Elite 8 three times. The Vikings won the 2011-12 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons, including a 25-6 record in 2016-17 where it won the GNAC regular season and conference championships title, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships as the No. 3 seed in the West Region. The program recently completed its 116^th season posting a 21-8 record in 2017-18, and have combined for 1,485 victories and a .591 winning percentage in program history.

-- @WWUHoops --