Hamasaki sparks Panthers' second-half rally past Cornell

ORANGE, Calif. – Junior G Taylor Hamasaki scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the second half as the Chapman University men's basketball team rallied from behind to defeat the Cornell University Rams, 83-73. Sunday's victory at the Hutton Sports Center marked the Panthers' fifth straight win, matching their longest winning streak since the 2011-12 season.

After cutting the Rams' lead to six points at halftime, Chapman nailed five straight three-pointers including a long range, desperate attempt from Hamasaki that found the bottom of the net before the shot clock expired. The buzzer-beater, which gave the Panthers their first lead of the game at 49-48, was part of a 28-11 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half. Chapman would hold on to the lead, sinking clutch free throws over the final minutes en route to the win.

The misleading second-half numbers fail to reflect the early struggles the Panthers faced. Chapman failed to convert a field goal until the 16:27 mark while the Rams pushed ahead to build an 11-point lead with 2:25 remaining in the first half. The Panthers' bounced back to finish the half strong, mounting a 7-2 run in the final two minutes to cut the deficit to six at the break.

Junior G Garrett James stepped out from his usual role as a facilitator to record his fourth double-digit scoring effort on the season. The offensive sparkplug tallied 10 second-half points while contributing four assists to the comeback effort.

Cornell's offense provided plenty of challenges for the Panthers as F Joey Guth and G Reggie Greenwood tallied 22 and 23 points, respectively. Rams C Nick Bobb kept Chapman out of the paint for most of the night, recording four blocked shots in the first half while pouring in 12 points of his own.

The hot-handed Panthers made 58.8 percent (10-of-17) of their three-point shots, improving their season mark to an impressive 43.8 percent (64-for-146).

The Panthers will have a day off before returning to the Hutton Sports Center for a New Year' Eve matchup with Ohio Northern. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Box score: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20131229_5j5b.xml

by Ryan Cavinder
Sports Information Assistant

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