Another career night from Ricard and Lin helps Chapman run over Slugs

ORANGE, Calif. – For the second-straight game, seniors Brandon Lin and Ben Ricard set career-highs in scoring, and for the second-straight game, the Chapman University men's basketball team avenged a loss from earlier in the season. After losing to U.C. Santa Cruz 44-43 on Jan. 20, Chapman came back with a resounding 90-58 win over Santa Cruz on Saturday night at the Hutton Sports Center for the team's third-straight win.

For the first 15 minutes of the game, the score remained tight as both teams could not manage more than a five point lead. Holding on to a 30-27 lead at the 5:17 mark of the first half after a basket by Santa Cruz senior F Brent Jacobs, Chapman (14-6) went on a 15-5 run to end the first half. Lin led the charge connecting on three three-pointers during the stretch as Chapman took a 45-32 lead at the break. Lin had 14 of his game-high 29 points in the first half and finished his night shooting 9-of-13 from the field and 6-of-9 from the three-point line.

Both teams traded baskets to start the second half as Santa Cruz got within 11 at the 17:35 mark after a pair of free throws by Trent Reeves. Chapman then took charge, extending its lead to as many as 35 points on the night as they capitalized on several Santa Cruz (12-10) turnovers for 11 second half points. Ricard had 14 of his 26 points for the Panthers in the second half.

A total of 11 players scored for Chapman on the night with Lin and Ricard as the only two in double-figures. Junior C Colin Chadwick was a force in the middle for Chapman with six points and 13 rebounds, falling just one rebound shy of his career-high which he had on Jan. 31 against West Coast Baptist.

Santa Cruz's high scorer was senior G Nathan Mohri with 10 points.

by Chris Watts
Sports Information Assistant

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/boxscores/20120204_wqqd.xml

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