Smith garners SCIAC weekly honor

ORANGE, Calif. - The SCIAC rewarded freshman Reed Smith's big week with the SCIAC Athlete of the Week honor – the first of the season for the Chapman men's basketball team. Smith averaged a double-double in two wins last week.

Smith scored 15 points against UC Merced on Friday while also grabbing nine rebounds. He scored another 15 points against the College of New Rochelle but pulled down 11 boards for his first career double-double. The Panthers beat UC Merced 84-57 and defeated New Rochelle 86-70.

With the two wins, Chapman improved to 3-0 and is one of just two unbeaten teams left in the SCIAC. Smith leads the team with nine rebounds per game through the first three games of the season and is scoring just over 11 points per game to rank third on the squad.

The forward from Brentwood, Tenn. ranks third in the SCIAC in rebounding while his 3.7 offensive rebounds per game ranks second.

The Panthers remain on the road this week, taking on West Coast Baptist on Tuesday and La Sierra on Saturday.