Panthers rally to take down Division II-ranked BYU-Hawaii

LAIE, Hawaii - Trailing by 10 points with under 3 minutes remaining in regulation, the Chapman University men's basketball team rallied to tie the game and went on to defeat host BYU-Hawaii 76-70 in overtime at the Cannon Center on Saturday night.

Chapman (11-2) - ranked No. 19 in Division III - out-scored the Seasiders 9-3 in the overtime period to pull off the upset against BYU-Hawaii (6-3), which entered the game ranked No. 18 in the Division II national poll.

Fittingly, it was junior G Griffin Ramme that gave the Panthers the lead in overtime with a pair of free throws, their first lead since early in the second half. It was Ramme who nailed a trio of three-pointers in the final three minutes to tie the game 69-69 at the end of regulation. His three-point basket with 27 seconds left pulled Chapman even and the Panthers got a stop on the Seasiders' final possession to force OT.

Ramme finished with a game-high 25 points, including five three-pointers. Junior F Justin Riley earned a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds for Chapman.

The Panthers opened the game with a 17-7 lead and maintained the advantage for most of the first half. However, BYU-Hawaii rallied and took a one-point lead into halftime. Chapman then fell behind by as many 13 points midway through the second half setting the Panthers up for their game-tying rally.

Chapman, which split a pair of games against Division II opponents in Hawaii this week, has won four of its past five games and travel to Pasadena to face Caltech on Wednesday.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2009-10/stats/cu-byuh.htm