Defense leads Chapman to 25-point win over Eagles

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's basketball team played shutdown defense in the first half and cruised to an 81-56 win over visiting West Coast Baptist College in non-conference play at the Hutton Sports Center on Saturday night. The Eagles managed just three first-half field goals as the Panthers built a lopsided advantage en route to their third win in four home games this season.

Chapman (4-3) limited the Eagles to just 10 percent shooting (3-for-30) from the field and 15 total points in the first half and led 40-15 at the intermission. Meanwhile, the Panthers' balanced attack was led by sophomore G Taylor Hamasaki who scored eight of his 12 points in the first half. Sophomore G Jordan Young also scored eight in the period, including a pair of three-pointers. He added one more three in the second half for a game total of 11 points.

The second half was a much more evenly-played affair, but Chapman maintained its 20-plus point cushion throughout. Sophomore G Colin Zavrsnick scored a team-high 14 points and was one rebound shy of his first career double-double with nine. He made a couple of threes and dished out five assists, a block and a steal.

Defense was the key for Chapman, limiting West Coast Baptist to just 26.7 percent shooting in the game and out-rebounding the Eagles 56-31.

The Panther bench added 33 points, led by junior G Brendan Rider's eight points, including two three-pointers. Chapman shot 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from three-point range and all 13 players for Chapman scored at least one point in the game.

For West Coast Baptist (3-10), Travis Burkett led all scorers with 29 points on 9 of 19 shooting and four three-pointers. He also led the Eagles with six rebounds.

Chapman will host a familiar foe in Whitworth University (Wash.) on Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. as part of a tournament that includes the University of Redlands and Willamette University (Ore.). The Panthers and Pirates have met each of the past five seasons with Whitworth owning a 4-1 advantage, including winning the last four in a row. Whitworth knocked the Panthers out of the NCAA Tournament in 2010 and '11 in Spokane, Wash. This is will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams in Orange.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/boxscores/20121215_qsd7.xml

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