Men's basketball drops defensive battle to Oxy

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's basketball team fell 59-46 Wednesday evening after a close game against visiting Occidental. Junior Cam Haslam led the team with 11 points, with sophomore Chandler White scoring closely behind with 10 points.

White grabbed seven rebounds to go along with his 10 points, including three on the offensive end. Haslam had three assists to go along with his 11 points and is now just 20 points shy of 1,000 career points.

After a slow start, the Panthers went on an 8-0 run to take a 10-7 lead on a three-pointer from White. After an Occidental basket, the Panthers rattled off another 7-0 run to extend their lead to 17-9 – the largest Chapman lead of the night.

Occidental chipped away at the lead over the next four minutes and eventually took a 21-20 lead with 7:16 left in the first half on a bucket from Zach Baines. Baines' basket was part of a 10-0 run that saw a 20-15 Chapman lead reverse into a 25-20 deficit.

The Panthers trailed closely behind the Tigers at the end of the first half at 31-26 but stayed within striking distance early in the second half. Junior Colin Ferrier scored all seven of his points in minute-and-a-half window and drained a three to pull Chapman within three at 35-32.

The Tigers pulled away over the next several minutes but Chapman climbed back within three with 12:30 to go on senior Jeff Kenney's free throws.  However, Chapman managed just eight points over the final 12:30 as Occidental pulled away for good.

Austin DeWitz led Occidental with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists.

The Panthers are back at home on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader.

By Steven Olveda & Molly Weber
Sports Information Director & Intern

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