Men's basketball drops midweek contest to Oxy

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's basketball team fell 77-66 to visiting Occidental on Wednesday. It was the Panthers' third SCIAC game in the last five days.

Junior Hayden Moore scored 24 points to lead the Panthers but Occidental was hot from long range, knocking down nine three-pointers in the game. Sophomore Alex Rogat added 15 points and eight rebounds for Chapman (10-3, 2-2 SCIAC).

Chapman opened up a 12-6 lead in the first six minutes of the game but Oxy responded with a 7-0 run to take the 13-12 lead. After trading a few baskets and the lead a few times, Oxy rattled off another 7-0 run to jump ahead 23-17 and never trailed again.

The Tigers pulled away late in the opening half to take a 41-31 lead into halftime. Chapman Moore knocked down a three-pointer to open the scoring in the second half and spark a 10-2 Chapman run to pull within two points at 43-41.

Moore came up with a steal moments later to give Chapman a chance to tie the game. The next few shots didn't fall but senior Colin Ferrier, Rogat and junior John Besse all grabbed offensive rebounds to keep the possession alive. A fourth shot at tying the game bounced off the rim.

Down 46-42, Rogat drew a foul on his way to the rim and dropped in the layup for a three-point opportunity. He knocked down the free throw to bring Chapman within one. However, Occidental scored the next eight points with Caleb Yellin-Flaherty hitting a pair of threes to fuel the run.

Occidental hung on to the lead and pulled away down the stretch to get its first conference win.

The Panthers continue their busiest stretch of the schedule with another SCIAC game on Saturday – their fourth in a week. Chapman will take on Whittier at 2 p.m. on Saturday and return home to take on La Verne on Jan. 18 at 2 p.m.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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