Late second half run against Pomona gives Chapman sixth win in a row

ORANGE, Calif. – Four players scored in double-figures for the Chapman University men's basketball team in its 65-54 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday night at the Hutton Sports Center.

Chapman (8-1) was ahead for the majority of the game, but saw its lead shrink to 54-50 with 4:26 left in the second half on a bucket by junior G Evan Zahniser. The Panthers led by as many as 11 points in the half before the Sagehens narrowed the score to 54-50. On Chapman's next possession, senior G Max Piner drained an open three-pointer off an assist from fellow senior Griffin Ramme. Piner's shot started an 11-0 run for Chapman as it jumped ahead 65-50. Piner tied junior C Ben Ricard for the team-high with 16 points.

Pomona-Pitzer (3-4) jumped out to the early lead in the first half and kept the game close with its zone defense. A three-pointer by sophomore G Xavyr Moss gave the Sagehens a 10-5 lead at the 17 minute mark. Chapman charged back and tied the game 13-13 four minutes later on a jump shot from Ramme. Moss had a game-high 17 points for Pomona.

Chapman's largest lead of the first half was 25-18 after a layup by Ricard who scored 14 of his points in the half on 6-of-6 shooting. The Sagehens went on a late run and closed the gap to 32-28 at halftime.

Ramme contributed 15 points and was one of three Panthers to score 15 or more points along with Ricard and Piner. Chapman improves to 2-0 at home with the win over Pomona-Pitzer and strengthens its candidacy to break into the top 25 Division III rankings.

by Robert Flicker
Sports Information Intern

 Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/files/pp-cu.htm