GAME NOTES: The Pittsburgh Panthers will participate in their first-ever Maui Invitational, as they open up their tournament play on Monday evening against host Chaminade at the Lahaina Civic Center.

The winner of this contest will move on in the tournament and play either San Diego State or BYU on Tuesday.

Jamie Dixon's Panthers are 2-1 on the young season, beginning the 2014-15 campaign with a pair of home wins over Niagara (78-45) and Samford (63-56). However, the team made an early trek from the mainland and suffered a 74-70 setback at Hawaii on Friday.

The Silverswords are undefeated on the year, with a pair of lopsided wins over Regis University (88-63) and then Saint Katherine College (79-58). Eric Bovaird's squad is a Division II program playing in the Pacific West Conference.

This marks the first-ever meeting between these two programs.

Sophomore Chris Jones hit five 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 19 points, but it wasn't enough in a five-point loss to the Rainbow Warriors last time out. Fellow sophomore Michael Young and junior James Robinson added 13 and 12 points, respectively, but the Panthers shot just .431 from the floor in the game, compared to a .529 effort from Hawaii.

The Panthers are playing at a high level defensively, but that is nothing new for a Dixon-coached squad. Pittsburgh enters tournament play allowing just 58.3 ppg, while foes are connecting on just .367 from the floor, including a meager .263 from behind the arc. Offensively, Pitt has been efficient at a .488 clip overall. Young leads the team with 13.3 ppg and is also tops in rebounding (7.0 rpg). Jones is next in the scoring column at 11.7 ppg, while Robinson adds 9.3 ppg and doles out 7.0 apg.

Taking into account the level of competition that Chaminade has faced thus far, the Silverswords are still getting the job done at an impressive rate, currently enjoying a +23.0 scoring margin. The team is shooting .445 from the floor and putting up 83.5 ppg over two outings. Kiran Shastri leads a trio of players in double figures for Chaminade with 17.5 ppg. Kuany Kuany has been strong inside, averaging a near double-double with 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. James Harper rounds out the set with 10.5 ppg.

Shastri led the team with 18 points, while Kuany recorded his first double- double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds, as Chaminade rolled over St. Katherine's College. Lee Bailey joined the other two in double digits, adding 12 points to the cause. The bench was emptied, as 13 Silverswords logged minutes in the game and 11 a scored.

The Panthers aren't an offensive juggernaut, but play the kind of defense that gives most teams problems. That will surely be the case for Chaminade in this first-round tilt.