Men's basketball heading to Whitman for NCAA First Round
ORANGE, Calif. – The SCIAC champion Chapman University men's basketball team will head to Walla Walla, Wash. on Thurs., March 3 to take on Whitman College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship. Chapman earned the SCIAC's automatic berth into the tournament after winning both the regular season and SCIAC Tournament titles.
Chapman and Whitman are facing off for the third time in program history and the winner will head to Spokane, Wash. to take on No. 5 Whitworth in the second round. Whitworth has a first round bye.
The Missionaries finished in second place in the Northwest Conference behind Whitworth but were upset by Pacific Lutheran in the semifinals of the NWC Tournament last weekend. They still finished 22-4 overall, including four wins against SCIAC opponents.
The Panthers and Missionaries met early last season in Santa Cruz, Calif. with Chapman emerging with a 72-67 win. The Panthers were down five at the half but erased the deficit early in the half and outscored Whitman 7-4 in the final minute to secure the win.
This is Chapman's fourth trip to the NCAA Division III Championship – all coming in the past seven years.
by Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
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