Clutch three-point shooting boosts Panthers in narrow win over Caltech

ORANGE, Calif. – After falling behind early to last-place Caltech, the Chapman University men's basketball team fought back with a strong defensive effort and clutch three-point shooting to defeat the Beavers 72-65 on Wednesday night. The home victory marked Chapman's third straight conference win and fourth consecutive at the Hutton Sports Center.

Chapman (10-7) struggled to defend the Beavers early as the two teams exchanged leads seven times in the first half of play. Neither team saw a lead larger than six points before the break as the Panthers took a 38-35 lead into the half, despite 55.6 percent shooting from Caltech.

The Panthers defense came out on the attack after the break, holding Caltech scoreless for the first 3:26 of the second half to build an 11-point lead with 11:37 remaining. The Beavers made a strong effort to get back in the game, pulling within two points several times, but a put-back bucket by sophomore forward Justin Young with under a minute left sealed the victory for the Panthers.

Chapman shot 50 percent from beyond the arch tonight, led by sophomore guard Colin Zavrsnick who made three of four attempts, including a clutch jumper with 3:57 left in the game to give the Panthers a five-point edge.

Zavrsnick paced the Panthers with 18 points, followed closely by Justin Young, who poured in a career-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Young has scored in double-digits off the bench in three straight games, shooting 66.7 percent from the field in those contests.

Chapman will travel to Occidental on Saturday at 7 p.m. seeking to push its win streak to a season-best four games. The Panthers then return home Jan. 30 for a string of four straight home games, beginning with a matchup versus first place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

by Ryan Cavinder
Sports Information Assistant

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/boxscores/20130123_2v05.xml

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