Reed Nakakihara dribbles the ball.
Reed Nakakihara (photo by Larry Newman)

Men's basketball ends 2018 with 69-49 win

ORANGE, Calif. – After a 9-0 run to start the game, the Chapman University men's basketball team cruised to a 69-49 win over Pacific Lutheran. Senior Reed Nakakihara was just shy of a double-double while sophomore Chandler White and junior Cam Haslam combined for 42 points.

In the final game of 2018 and their final non-conference game, the Panthers (5-5) burst out to a big lead and never let PLU (3-5) come close. White scored six points in the first 2:10 of the game and Haslam drained a three-point shot to start the game on a 9-0 run. White scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half while Haslam scored 13 of his 19 points in the opening half to lead Chapman out to a big lead.

After Kelton Williams scored four quick points for the Lutes to make it 9-4, PLU went nearly six minutes without a made field goal. The lead extended into double digits and the Lutes were never able to get back in the game.

Nakakihara drained a trio of three-pointers for nine points and also grabbed nine rebounds with two assists. The Panthers' kept PLU to just 34.5 percent shooting, including a 5-for-23 effort beyond the arc. Chapman shot 46.8 percent and went 6-for-13 from three-point range. PLU shot just 28.6 percent in the first half, made only 1-of-11 three-point tries and went 3-of-10 from the free throw line.

The Lutes went scoreless for almost five minutes of the first half as Chapman went on a 13-0 run to extend its lead to 27 points at 40-13 – the biggest lead of the night.

With the 24-point lead at halftime, the Panthers kept the Lutes from making any sizeable runs in the second half and cruised to the victory. Senior Corwin Feerick made his season debut and cracked the starting lineup in his first game, pulling down six rebounds and blocking two shots.

The Panthers wrapped up their 2018 schedule and non-conference schedule with the win. They head into the 2019 SCIAC season at Occidental on Wednesday but return home on Jan. 5 to face Whittier at 4 p.m.

 

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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