Taylor's 22 leads men's basketball to win over Husson

ORANGE, Calif. – Junior James Taylor led four players in double digits with 22 points as the Chapman University men's basketball team defeated visiting Husson 73-65 on Friday. The Panthers (5-5) never trailed to end their nonconference slate on a high note.

After trading the first 10 points of the game evenly, Chapman went on a 5-0 run and never relinquished the lead. Taylor scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half to lead Chapman to a 36-29 lead at the break. Sophomore Reed Nakakihara was 3-for-3 from three-point range in the first half and ended the game with 15 points and five assists.

Junior Tyler Green hit a pair of threes in the second half to net 10 of his 12 points in the final 20 minutes. Senior James Griffin added in 11 points and eight rebounds.

Back-to-back threes from Nakakihara put Chapman up eight at the midpoint of the first half but the Eagles 9-2 run over the next four minutes whittled the lead down to one. Taylor put the Panthers back up three and went on to score seven of Chapman's final nine points of the half while Husson was held to just three points over the final 5:45.

The lead reached as much as 15 points in the second half as Chapman continued to respond whenever the Eagles would make a run. Raheem Anderson led Husson with 19 points, four assists and two rebounds. Justin Martin was one of three Eagles with 10 points but posted a double-double as he also pulled down 10 boards.

The Panthers finished up their nonconference schedule with the win over Husson and will jump right back into SCIAC play next week. They host La Verne on Jan. 5 at 7 p.m.

by Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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