Men's basketball wins third straight to end season

ORANGE, Calif. – A hot start to the second half keyed a 72-61 victory in the season finale for the Chapman University men's basketball team over Caltech. All five Chapman seniors started the Senior Day game for the Panthers.

With Blakely Stoughton's 18-point game leading the way, the Panthers' bench ended the game outscoring Caltech's 46-6 on the night. Cruz Billings scored 15 points and Jake Heberle added in 11 points to help lead the effort. Jack Roggin scored 15 in his final game as a Panther.

The Panthers fell behind early but never trailed after back-to-back threes from Billings and Heberle gave Chapman an 8-4 lead six minutes into the game. The Beavers kept close behind a 25-point,12-rebound night from Pavlos Stavrinides.

A late Caltech run in the first half shrunk the lead to three points but a travel with two seconds left near halfcourt gave Chapman a last second opportunity. Billings made the most of it as he drained a 35-footer at the buzzer to make it 31-25 at halftime.

Caltech turned the ball over 18 times in the game and shot just 4-of-27 behind the three-point line. As a team, the Beavers went 7-for-19 from the free throw line. Chapman took advantage of their opportunities at the charity stripe as the Panthers collectively shot 22-of-25 from the line.

Billings buzzer beater sparked the momentum for the Panthers into the second half. Chapman opened the half on a 22-4 over the first five minutes, including scoring 17 consecutive points over a three and a half minute window to open up a 24-point lead.

Caltech chipped away to come back within eight points late in the half before Stoughton, Roggin and Anthony Smith combined to make all 10 free throws down the stretch to keep the game out of reach.

The Panthers season comes to an end on a three-game win streak . The Panthers finished the 2022-23 season with a 13-11 overall record and a 7-9 record in the SCIAC – finishing fifth in the conference standings.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook
Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports
Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChpmanSports