Men’s basketball falls to Pomona-Pitzer 66-55

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's basketball team fell 66-55 to the visiting Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens (9-2, 2-0 SCIAC) earlier this afternoon. Sophomore Hayden Moore led the Panthers (9-2, 1-1 SCIAC) with 13 points in the effort.

Moore and senior Colin Ferrier helped Chapman jump out to an early 7-0 lead but the Sagehens responded with 14 straight to take a seven-point lead with 13:58 on the clock. The two sides traded points before Pomona-Pitzer took a 17-10 lead. The Panthers responded, scoring seven in a row with the help from a three-pointer from sophomore Derrick Morris to tie the game with just under 10 minutes left to play in the first half.

Senior Sagehen James Kelbert answered with a shot from beyond the arc, but Morris tied the game again by sinking all three free throws after getting fouled on a shot from three-point range. The Sagehens then went on a 10-2 run to take an eight-point lead with 4:16 on the clock.

Sophomore Anthony Giomi responded with a three-pointer and a layup to cut the Panthers' deficit, but Pomona-Pitzer scored the last point of the half to take a 34-29 lead going into the second half.

Moore made a splash just over two minutes into the half, sinking a three-pointer to cut the Sagehens' lead to just two points. They traded points until Pomona-Pitzer went on a six-point run to take a 46-38 lead with over 13 minutes left to play in the game.

With the Panthers in foul trouble early in the half, a couple of free throws from senior Adam Rees gave Pomona-Pitzer a 10-point lead with 11 minutes to play. Sophomore Daniel Foldes and Morris helped bring Chapman back within six points, but the Sagehens scored four in a row to maintain the double-digit lead.

Pomona-Pitzer took its biggest lead of the game at the 5:37 mark when senior Jack Boyle nailed a three-pointer. The Sagehens maintained the lead throughout the final five minutes before taking the final 66-55 lead.

Freshman Sam Barela led the Panthers with seven boards, four assists and a block.

Chapman heads to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Monday before returning home to Hutton Sports Center on Wednesday, Jan. 8 to host Occidental at 7 p.m.

by Katie Bell
Sports Information Assistant

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