Home winning streak snapped with upset loss to Poets

ORANGE, Calif. – On a night when the Chapman University men's basketball team could have clinched a berth in the SCIAC Tournament, the No. 18-ranked Panthers suffered an upset defeat to visiting Whittier College 79-63 at the Hutton Sports Center on Tuesday night.

The loss was Chapman's first at home in over a year (2/1/14) and knocked the Panthers out of first place for the first time this season.

Whittier (13-8 overall, 7-5 SCIAC) was also coming off loss to last-place Caltech on Saturday, but rebounded in a big way. On the strength of a 12-0 run to open the second half, the Poets built a double-digit lead and maintained it over the final 12 minutes of the game. Whittier led by as many as 18 points late in the game and had three starters score in double figures: Andrew Torres (22 points), Eric Jennings (18) and Nick Demusis (15).

Chapman (18-3 overall, 9-3 SCIAC) had fought back from a first-half deficit to take a 38-36 halftime lead thanks to an 11-2 run over the final 2:58 in the period. Back-to-back buckets by senior G Colin Zavrsnick, including a three, aided the Panthers' run.

Zavrsnick finished with a team-high 20 points, including a pair of threes. Senior F Justin Young earned a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds (eight offensive).

The loss was Chapman's third in five games after beginning the season 16-0. It also snapped the Panthers' 12-game home winning streak.

Chapman will get another chance to clinch that SCIAC Tournament berth when it travels to the University of Redlands on Saturday. The Panthers will then close the regular season with three consecutive home games against first-place Cal Lutheran, La Verne and Caltech.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

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