Once again, Chapman men open season with a win
ORANGE, Calif. – A fast second-half start by the Chapman University men's basketball team helped the Panthers defeat visiting La Sierra University 83-72 in their season opener at the Hutton Center on Thursday night. With the score tied at 35 at halftime, Chapman opened the second half on a 13-0 run and led the rest of the way.
The win was Chapman's sixth straight in season and home openers. The Panthers have won four straight at home dating back to last year when they were 9-2 on the Hutton floor.
Sophomore G Jordan Young made back-to-back three pointers and sophomore G Colin Zavrsnick followed with a three and two-pointer as part of a 13-0 run by Chapman (1-0) to begin the second half. The Panthers maintained a double-digit lead for most of the period, until La Sierra (0-3) cut it to six points at 76-70 with 59 seconds remaining.
Chapman made seven straight free throws in the final minute to seal the victory, four by sophomore G Taylor Hamasaki who led the Panthers with 19 points, including going 9-for-11 from the free throw line.
The Panthers were slow to find their rhythm in the first half, trailing early and playing catch-up for the first 10 minutes. Chapman finally regained the lead 21-20 at the 8:17 mark on a bucket from senior C Colin Chadwick – two of his 13 points in the game. That basket was part of a 19-5 run that gave Chapman a 10-point lead with 3:05 to go in the half.
La Sierra scored 10 unanswered points to close out the half, including a three-pointer by Eagles' freshman G Isaiah Hawkins which tied the score 35-35 going into the intermission. Hawkins led all scorers with 20 points, including three three-pointers. Junior C Carleton Coleman was a point shy of a double-double with nine points and a game-high 11 boards.
Hamasaki and Chadwick were among four of Chapman's starters who scored in double digits. Senior F Takeshi Clifford scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and added four assists and three blocked shots. Zavrsnick finished with 13 points, including three triples.
Chapman was out-rebounded 35-29 in the game despite Chadwick's team-high eight rebounds.
The Panthers will hit the road for their next two games at Arizona Christian (Nov. 20) and their SCIAC opener at Pomona-Pitzer (Nov. 28) before returning home to host Occidental in conference play on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director
Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/boxscores/20121115_l373.xml
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