LAHAINA, Maui — Chaminade played big against the Big East's best yesterday but in the end the more athletic Marquette Golden Eagles ran by the upset hopes of the outmanned Silverswords.

Jerel McNeal scored 22 points, including eight straight during an 11-2 second-half run, to lead Marquette's three-guard offense to a 74-63 victory over Division II Chaminade in the opening game of the 2007 EA Sports Maui Invitational.

"I think we're very fortunate to have won. I hate to use the word lucky but I will," said Marquette coach Tom Crean. "We knew we were going to play a very good team, tougher than anticipated. They were very, very good."

No. 11 Marquette will play Oklahoma State in the semifinals today at 2 p.m., while Chaminade will play LSU in the consolation round at 8:30 a.m. today.

Lazar Hayward added 15 points for Marquette, and Dominic James and David Cubbilan both had 11.

The Silverswords closed to within three points of the Golden Eagles on three separate occasions after the 10-minute mark in the second half but Marquette's superior speed and athleticism prevented the upset.

James stripped the ball from Silversword point guard Bussey Ellis at the 3:58 mark and passed ahead to McNeal, who incited the Marquette faithful with a two-handed dunk to push the lead to 10.

The loss dropped the Silverswords to 4-64 all time in the tournament, their last win coming against Villanova in 2003.

"They are super, super athletic," said Chaminade coach Matt Mahar. "I thought our guys played well, they never quit and I think we did a nice job."

Senior center Marko Kolaric scored 19 points for the Silverswords and grabbed 14 rebounds and consistently made plays to keep his team in the game.

The Silverswords adjusted to Marquette's speed midway through the first half and began attacking the basket and utilizing the 6-foot-11 Kolaric's height advantage over Marquette's 6-8 forwards Dwight Burke and Hayward.

After opting to hang around the top of the key early in the first half, Kolaric began to work down low, scoring seven points in the last 12 minutes.

"I just tried to play hard as much as I can," said Kolaric after the game. "This is a pretty good experience before the season."

Marquette did not start a player taller than 6-8, and Kolaric and 6-7 forward Rodrick Johnson took advantage of the size differential to create mismatches beneath the basket.

Marquette led 39-30 at intermission but the Silverswords opened the second half with a 6-0 run to close the gap to three points.

Stewart Cussler scored two quick layups and Kolaric took a pass from Ellis and laid it in at the 17:12 mark to make it 39-36.

McNeal took over down the stretch, tipping in a missed free throw, hitting two consecutive layups and throwing down a thunderous dunk to help Marquette avoid the upset.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.

MARQUETTE (3-0)—Burke 2-3 0-0 4, Hayward 6-11 3-4 15, James 4-12 3-4 11, McNeal 10-14 2-4 22, Matthews 1-6 4-6 6, Acker 0-2 0-0 0, Fitzgerald 0-0 0-0 0, Cubillan 3-8 3-3 11, Blackledge 0-0 0-0 0, Barro 1-2 3-4 5. Totals 27-58 18-25 74.

CHAMINADE (0-1)—Johnson 5-13 3-6 13, Kussler 4-9 0-0 8, Kolaric 9-13 1-1 19, Heiber 1-6 6-7 8, Ellis 0-3 0-1 0, Collier 0-1 0-0 0, Hunt 3-10 0-0 8, Green 0-1 0-0 0, Wendt 2-4 2-2 7. Totals 24-60 12-17 63.

Halftime—Marquette 39-30. 3-Point Goals—Marquette 2-16 (Cubillan 2-6, Matthews 0-1, Hayward 0-1, Acker 0-2, McNeal 0-2, James 0-4), Chaminade 3-17 (Hunt 2-6, Wendt 1-3, Kussler 0-1, Kolaric 0-1, Green 0-1, Ellis 0-2, Johnson 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Marquette 32 (Barro 9), Chaminade 43 (Kolaric 14). Assists—Marquette 6 (Cubillan, James 2), Chaminade 8 (Ellis, Heiber, Kolaric 2). Total Fouls—Marquette 19, Chaminade 21. A—2,500.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.