Cold shooting plagues Panthers in loss to Willamette

ORANGE, Calif. – A night after giving No. 11 Whitworth all it could handle for 40 minutes, the Chapman University men's basketball team struggled to make baskets, ultimately falling to visiting Willamette University 57-55 at the Hutton Sports Center on Wednesday night. The loss drops the Panthers below .500 and marks the first time they have lost three games at home (3-3) in a season since 2002-03.

Willamette (4-6) rallied from a 10-point deficit and didn't take its first lead of the game until the 5:22 mark in the second half on a pair of free throws from junior G Avery Manu which gave the Bearcats a 52-51 lead. Chapman had led by eight just over a minute earlier, but Willamette went on an 11-2 run to come back and take the lead.

Chapman (4-5) responded and took the lead with 2:17 to play on two free throws by junior F Nick Dragovich to make it 55-54 Panthers, but Bearcats' senior F Sean Dart's ensuing basket gave Willamette the lead for good with 2 minutes left. Dart earned a double-double with a team-high 17 points and 14 rebounds and added three blocked shots. Senior G Terrell Malley scored 14 points and pitched in three assists for the Bearcats.

With 15 seconds left and a chance to win it, the Panthers got one final shot but sophomore G Jordan Young's layup attempt missed and Willamette rebounded.

Despite shooting just 27.3 percent (9-for-33) from the field in the first half, the Panthers built a 30-25 halftime lead and never trailed in the period. Chapman finished the game shooting 31.6 percent and was just 3-for-16 from three-point range.

Sophomore G Taylor Hamasaki scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Chapman. Dragovich added 10 points off the bench.

Chapman will travel to La Sierra University on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. before breaking for the holiday. The Panthers then return home Dec. 30-31 to face UC Santa Cruz and Colorado College.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/boxscores/20121219_rqso.xml

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