Panthers stay perfect at home with win over Southwestern

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's basketball team won for the sixth straight game and remained perfect at home with an 85-69 win over visiting Southwestern College (Ariz.) at the Hutton Center on Tuesday night. The Panthers are 7-0 at home this season and one win away from an unprecedented sixth consecutive 20-win season.

Chapman (19-3), ranked No. 20 in Division III in this week's national poll from D3Hoops.com, used a 14-5 run to close out the first half to build a double-digit lead for good. Southwestern had cut the Panthers' lead to six points with 6:37 left before halftime. Chapman junior PG Brandon Lin hit back-to-back three-pointers and scored eight of his 18 points over the final six minutes to help the Panthers to a 47-32 lead at the intermission.

Southwestern refused to lie down in the second half. Although they never trailed by less than 10 points for the remainder of the game, the Eagles shot over 53 percent from the field. A 7-0 run by Southwestern early in the second period cut an 18-point Chapman lead down to 11.

Senior F Justin Riley led all scorers with 19 points and seven rebounds. He was one of four Chapman starters to score in double figures. In addition to Lin, senior C Jon Consani had 13 points and senior G Griffin Ramme finished with 18 points, including five three-pointers and five assists.

Chapman shot 55.2 percent from the field, including 9 of 15 from three-point range. The Panthers never trailed in the game.

Three Eagles players scored 10 or more, including A.J. Koch who led the team with 13 points.

The Panthers will play their final home game of the regular season on Monday, Feb. 14 against West Coast Baptist College. It will be 'Senior Night' with Valentine's Day tipoff at 7 p.m.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director        

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/boxscores/20110208_6qdw.xml