Rob Nelsen (Photo by Larry Newman)
Rob Nelsen (Photo by Larry Newman)

Whittier’s late run brings Chapman to fourth straight loss

ORANGE, Calif. –  The Chapman University men's basketball team fell 62-59 to Whittier College on Saturday night at the Hutton Sports Center. Freshman Drew Todd finished the game with a career-high 15 points for Chapman.

Trailing 59-51, Whittier's Conner Longmire hit a jump shot outside the arc to spark an 11-0 run for the Poets who earned the win on three free throws in the last 30 seconds of the game.

The Panthers and Poets traded leads nine times in the first half with the Panthers ending the half on top 28-25 following a key triple from junior Rob Nelsen. Nelsen scored all of his 13 points in the first half, shooting 5-for-7 in the field.  

Chapman carried Nelsen's three point momentum into the second half extending the Panthers lead to 49-41 with nine minutes left in the game. The Panthers maintained the lead up until the last minute when two fouls put Whittier on the line to earn the win.

Sophomore Reed Nakakihara added 12 points for the Panthers and junior Tyler Green contributed 10. Senior Josh Cohan grabbed seven boards for Chapman. 

The Panthers will travel to Caltech for a SCIAC match at 7 p.m. on Thurs., January 26 looking to rebound from their four-game losing streak. Chapman will then return home, Sat., January 28 for a 4 p.m. game against Cal Lutheran.

 

by Raquel Rinauro
Sports Information Assistant

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