Strong first half not enough for Panthers in loss to CMS

ORANGE, Calif. – It was a tale of two halves for the Chapman University men's basketball team on Wednesday night as they fell to Claremont-Mudd-Scrips, 55-44 at the Hutton Sports Center. The Panthers finished the first half with a three-point lead, but converted on just 21.7 percent of their second half shots as they saw their four-game win streak come to an end.

Chapman (11-8) came out with a strong defensive effort in the first half, limiting the CMS Stags to just two points in the first six minutes of play. The Panthers made 10-of-22 shots (45.5 percent) before the break, but turnovers cost them a chance to extend their lead as they entered the break with a 23-20 advantage.

Claremont-Mudd-Scrips (14-6) had the hot hand to start the second half, hitting each of their first nine shots. Sophomore guard Jack Grodahl, who scored a game-high 19 points, drained a pair of three-pointers for the Stags as they outscored the Panthers 23-3 through the first nine minutes.

Despite hitting only one field goal in the first 11:32 of the second half, the Panthers went on a run sparked by sophomore guard Taylor Hamasaki. Hamasaki's jumper with 8:28 remaining sparked a 9-0 run that brought the Stags lead down to just nine points at 49-40 with 4:16 remaining. The nine-point deficit proved to be too much for the Panthers to overcome as the buzzer sounded with a final score of 55-44.

Chapman's made just 15 of 45 shots, including two of 14 from behind the arc as they posted their lowest point total of the season. Sophomore guard's Colin Zavrsnick and Hamasaki led the Panthers with 10 points each while Justin Young added nine points, snapping his string of double-digit efforts at four games.

Despite tonight's loss, the Panthers still control their own postseason destiny, hosting four of their remaining six games at the Hutton Sports Center. The La Verne Leopards will visit Orange this Saturday to take on the Panthers at 7 p.m.

by Ryan Cavinder
Sports Information Assistant

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/boxscores/20130130_971f.xml

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