Men's basketball tips off 2022-23 season on Saturday
ORANGE, Calif. – The season begins Saturday for the Chapman University men's basketball team when it takes on UC Santa Cruz at 7 p.m. The SCIAC coaches poll picked the Panthers to finish third in the conference this year.
The Panthers bring back Jack Roggin and Anthony Smith from last year's starting lineup that led the Panthers to a second-pace finish in the SCIAC and a trip to the SCIAC Tournament championship. Despite graduating three starters, Chapman returns 12 players from last year's squad who will be called upon to step into much larger roles.
Chapman sits behind Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the preseason poll. Last season, Chapman defeated the CMS Stage in the SCIAC Tournament semifinals but suffered a narrow loss to Pomona-Pitzer in the championship game. The Panthers still received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and will look to build off the postseason experience.
Roggin led the Panthers in scoring last year at over 16 points per game. He surged late in the season with seven 20-plus point games in the last 10 games of the year, including a pair of 30-point games. He was an All-SCIAC First Team selection and All-District selection after leading Chapman into the NCAA Tournament.
Smith averaged 10.4 points per game to go along with four rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He was a 48 percent shooter and 41 percent shooter behind the three-point arc.
Daniel Foldes also returned to the Panthers with his extra year of eligibility in 2022-23. He has been a contributor off the bench in each of his previous three seasons. He averaged seven minutes per game last year over 25 games but averages over 12 minutes per game in his career. Nathan Williams, who shot over 35 percent from three-point range, is another returner who will see increased minutes. He mad five starts last year and played in 25 games.
Younger returners Blakely Stoughton and Andrew Ingalls will step into larger roles with several freshmen also challenging for playing time as the season unfolds.
Coming off their third NCAA appearance in the last eight years, this new group of Panthers is eager to continue being a force in the SCIAC in 2022-23. The season begins on Saturday when Chapman takes on UCSC in the Hutton Sports Center at 7 p.m.
By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
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