They knocked on their own door with a 74-63 loss to Big East power Marquette. They knocked a little louder the next day with a 78-72 loss to Southeastern Conference heavy Louisiana State.

Finally, on the final day of last week's Maui Invitational — a party they've hosted for some 23 years — the Chaminade Silverswords took a screwdriver to the hinges and let themselves in with a precision dismantling of notoriously impenetrable Princeton.

The win might not compare to Chaminade's legendary upsets of Ralph Sampson's Virginia (1982), Louisville (1983) and Southern Methodist (1984), but every win in the always-stacked Maui Invitational is an upset victory for tiny Chaminade.

The Silverswords' last win in the tournament came in 2003, when it shocked a talented Villanova squad led by future NBA players Randy Foye and Allan Ray.

"I think this win will give us a lot of confidence as a group," said Chaminade coach Matt Mahar. "We have a lot of newcomers and a lot of returnees and we've been trying hard to find the right balance. I think this whole tournament helped define things for us. We hadn't been playing well or together to start the season, but we did on Maui."

The rewards started pouring in almost immediately as senior Marko Kolaric was recognized as the PacWest player of the week. Kolaric, a 7-foot center/forward from Serbia, averaged 14.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and shot better than 55 percent from the field over the three games.

Mahar said the productive play of the Silverswords' frontline — Kolaric, 6-7 junior forward Rodrick Johnson and 6-5 senior forward Stewart Kussler — during the tournament helped set a direction for the team as it gears up for what should be an up-for-grabs conference season.

The trio helped Chaminade enjoy a rebounding advantage over each of its three Division I opponents at the tournament.

"Traditionally, Chaminade has been known for its guard play — up and down, jacking up 3s, but we have an advantage with our big guys and want to run a lot of stuff through them," Mahar said. "It's a different kind of Chaminade team than people are used to."

The Silverswords also got solid play from guard Hayden Heiber, who burned the Tigers for 16 points, four rebounds and seven assists.

The starting lineup is rounded out by sophomore point guard Bussey Ellis, whose ability to maintain order at the point helps free Heiber to roam as a scorer.

Heiber has been a pleasant surprise this season. After averaging six rebounds during the Maui Invitational, Mahar chided him for setting a high bar for the rest of the season.

"He's unbelievably better than he was last year," Mahar said. "He's a good player, and he's capable of rebounding the ball."

The Silverswords contain opponents with a stingy man-to-man defense, with a few zone looks mixed in. Against the heralded Princeton offense, the Silverswords allowed just one score off a backdoor cut, a staple of the Tigers' offense.

Mahar said the Silverswords could find themselves in the thick of the conference race if their big men play to their potential and the team as a whole executes defensively.

"Hopefully, we'll be a fun team to watch," Mahar said. "We like to get up and down and run, but if we can't, we're capable of running some sets in the half court."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.