Men's basketball drops home SCIAC opener

ORANGE, Calif — Men's basketball dropped their home SCIAC opener against Cal Lutheran, in a close one, 68-66. 

The Panthers had an opportunity to tie the game on their last possession. The Kingsmen missed a free throw on a one-and-one opportunity.

Kyle Lewis forced a turnover after a Cal Lutheran came down with the rebound. Anthony Smith, in his first game back this season, pushed the ball up the court and had a layup, but the contest forced a miss. Chapman grabbed the board, but a last second Cruz Billings heave as the buzzers sounded sent the Kingsmen home victorious. 

Chapman got out to a scorching hot start early going on a 17-2 run to open the game after initially trailing 4-0. 

A Cal Lutheran timeout, however, paid dividends as the Kingsmen fired off 12 straight points to take the lead. The remainder of the half was back-and-forth resulting in a 28-26 halftime lead for the Panthers. 

The second half was no different as both teams led by no more than four at any point in the frame. 

The Panthers only lead late came at the 2:40 mark when Billings snuck his way through defenders to jump ahead 64-62. From there, the Kingsmen scored eight straight, and out rebounded Chapman 6-1, collecting three offensive boards which proved to be the difference.

Chapman was led by Blakeley Stoughton with 16 points, on 5-12 shooting and 3-5 from three. Five total Panthers scored in the double-digits, including Lewis who provided a great spark off the bench with 12, 10 of which coming in the second half. He added three steals as well.

The Panthers fell to 3-4 and 0-2 in the SCIAC with the loss and the Kingsmen improved to 3-4 and 2-0.

By Joe Perrino

Assistant SID / Recreation Sports Manager

Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook

Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports

Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChapmanSports