After slow start, Panthers cruise to 77-59 win over West Coast Baptist
ORANGE, Calif. - In its first home game in nearly a month, the No. 17 Chapman University men's basketball team recovered from a slow first-half start to top West Coast Baptist College 77-59 on Monday night at the Harold Hutton Sports Center. The Panthers are 19-0 all-time against the Eagles dating back to the 2001 season when the teams first played.
After falling behind 4-2 in the first minute of the game, the Panthers outscored the Eagles 17-6 over the next seven minutes pushing their lead to 19-10 with 13 minutes in the first half. Chapman's lead was short-lived however, as West Coast Baptist answered with a 12-2 run of its own and took the lead back 22-21 on a put-back by freshman G Matt Osborne. Eagles' senior G Danny Galdamez had nine of his team-high 22 points during the run.
With the scored tied at 23, sophomore F Ben Ricard gave Chapman the lead for good on a put-back layup with 7:30 remaining in the first half which ignited a 15-2 run to end the half. Chapman (13-2) outscored West Coast Baptist 20-8 in second-chance points on the evening.
West Coast Baptist (3-13) narrowed the score to 48-40, capping a 7-0 run, on a layup by freshman Creed Miller with 15 minutes remaining in the game which as close as the score would get in the second half. Consecutive three-pointers from junior G Griffin Ramme and a bucket from junior F Justin Riley ended the West Coast Baptist threat as Chapman pushed its lead to as many as 20 points late in the second half.
Riley finished with his eighth double-double of the season tallying 24 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. The 15 rebounds pulled down by Riley are the most by any Panther this season. Senior F Jared Kaiser added his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds while Ramme also finished in double-figure scoring with 11 points on 3-4 shooting from three-point range. In 13 minutes of playing time, junior F Jon Consani had eight points and six rebounds.
The Eagles were led by Galdemez's 22 points on 7-of-23 shooting and 14 points from freshman G Akeem Smith.
by Chris Watts
Sports Information Assistant
boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2009-10/stats/wcbc-cu.htm