Men’s basketball drops back-and-forth battle with CMS

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's basketball team (12-4, 5-2 SCIAC) lost 70-63 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (6-7, 4-1 SCIAC) earlier this afternoon in the first game of a double header. Senior Rob Nelsen led the scoring for the Panthers, tallying 17 points and seven rebounds in the narrow loss.

The first seven and a half minutes of the game saw seven lead changes as the two teams duked it out and exchanged point after point. Chapman then went on a 14-0 run to take a 12 point lead with eight and a half minutes to play. The Stags put the pressure on and senior Scott Lynds made a layup to tie the game at 25 with just over two minutes to play in the half. Senior Michael Scarlett produced a layup of his own with 36 seconds on the clock, completing Claremont's 22-6 run to finish out the first half.

Nelsen made one of his two three pointers less than 30 seconds into the second half to cut the Stags' lead to four points, but Scarlett drained one of his trio of threes to extend the lead to nine. A layup from senior Luke Selway and a pair of free throws from Nelsen kept the Panthers in the race with just over 15 minutes left to play.

Chapman scored eight unanswered points over the span of one and a half minutes, regaining the lead, but Lynds hit a jumper to change the lead yet again. After two more lead changes, Scarlett hit one from downtown to give the Stags' the final lead of the game. A pair of free throws from junior Jeff Kenney brought Chapman within two points, but it was all Claremont action after that as they went on a 12-2 run to make the score 68-57 with 40 seconds left. Nelsen kissed one off the glass to end the game, but the Stags came away with their third consecutive victory against the Panthers.

Selway was the only other Panther to hit double digits, scoring 14 points while also tallying six rebounds. Lynds and Scarlett led Claremont on offense, with Lynds scoring 20 points with six rebounds and Scarlett tallying 21 points, including shooting a perfect 10 free throws.

Chapman continues its home stand with a game against Occidental on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.

by Katie Bell
Sports Information Assistant

Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook
Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports
Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChapmanSports
#Chaptown