Panthers hold on late to defeat conference-leading Redlands

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's basketball team held on in a nail-biter Wednesday night at the Hutton Sports Center to secure its biggest victory of the season, a 74-69 win over a Redlands squad with a previously unblemished conference record. The win moves the Panthers record above .500 (8-7) as they take sole possession of fourth place in the SCIAC with a 3-3 conference mark.

Chapman (8-7) jumped out to an early lead and held the lead for the entire first half. The Panthers defense limited the Bulldogs to just 35.7 percent (10-28) from the field as they took a 34-31 lead into halftime.

Redlands (11-4) came out strong in the second half, outscoring the Panthers 15-6 in the opening six minutes to take a 46-40 lead, their biggest of the contest. Chapman came roaring back, recapturing the lead with a clutch three-pointer from senior F Takeshi Clifford with 10:04 remaining. Clifford's three-point shot sparked a 13-5 run capped off by a three-point play from sophomore G Taylor Hamasaki.

Bulldogs' junior F Alex Rudd led a comeback attempt late in the game with a three-pointer at the 2:49 mark to bring them within three points. Redlands pulled within a point several times in the final minutes, but could not pull even. Rudd scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the second half.

Chapman earned the win at the free throw line tonight, shooting 83.8 percent (31-for-37) from the charity stripe, including a 24-for-27 showing in the second half.

Hamasaki paced the Panthers with 16 points, six rebounds and four steals. Clifford added 15 points and sophomore F Justin Young added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench for Chapman.

Chapman will travel to Cal Lutheran on Saturday at 7 p.m. seeking its first road SCIAC victory since Dec. 5. The Panthers then return home Jan. 23 to face Caltech.

by Ryan Cavinder
Sports Information Assistant

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/boxscores/20130116_gcgu.xml

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