Comeback win sends men's basketball to championship game
ORANGE, Calif. – An early deficit was no match for the Chapman University men's basketball team as it advanced to the SCIAC Tournament championship game with a 78-75 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Senior Jack Roggin and Anthony Giomi each posted 20-point games to lead the Panthers to the victory.
The top seeds held throughout the SCIAC Postseason Tournament as top-seeded Pomona-Pitzer pulled out a victory over Cal Lutheran on Friday as well.
Roggin scored 21 points to lead the Panther in addition dishing out a team-high four assists and coming away with four steals. Giomi pulled down seven rebounds in addition to scoring 20 points.
After the Stags started the game 8-for-8 on their first nine possessions, the Panthers found themselves in an early hole. The deficit reached as much as 16 points when Max McCalla hit a three-pointer to make it 32-16 with 9:05 remaining in the first half. Senior Hayden Moore responded with a three-pointer to spark the comeback for Chapman.
The Panthers outscored the Stags 18-7 over the final nine minutes to cut the lead back into single digits before halftime. Giomi scored the first basket of the second half and senior Anthony Smith came away with a steal and a layup to cut the lead down to 41-38 in the first minute.
After trading the next two buckets, Moore knocked down a game-tying three-pointer and Roggin followed with another three to take a 46-43 lead. Roggin went on to score 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to fuel the Panthers' run to a nine-point lead with 7:26 remaining.
Giomi put the Panthers up 66-57 with one of his two second half three-pointers but CMS responded and started to chip away. Matt Meredith sunk a game-tying three-pointer with 2:14 to go and, after Smith hit 1-of-2 free throws, gave CMS the 73-72 when he cut to the rim for a layup.
Smith responded with a layup to put Chapman back up by one. CMS grabbed an offensive rebound on the next possession but threw a pass into the backcourt for a turnover. Giomi knocked down a jumper in the key to give Chapman a three-point lead with 20 seconds left.
As CMS hurried down the floor, Josh Angle lost control of his dribble and Roggin swooped in for a steal and an easy layup to make it 78-73. Brian Kenyon drew a foul on the other end and hit both free throws to make a three-point game again.
When Chapman missed the first free throw of a 1-and-1, CMS set up with three seconds left for a final shot to tie the game. After a flurry of timeouts, Angle's long three-point attempt bounced off the rim as the final horn went off for the Chapman win.
The Panthers shot 54.5 percent for the game while the Stags shot 51.6 percent. CMS was just 3-for-7 from the free throw line in the second half. Four players reached double digits with TJ Askew leading the way with 16 points for the Stags.
Chapman will take on Pomona-Pitzer on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the championship game of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament in Claremont, Calif.
By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
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