CMS Defeats #12 Ranked Chapman

The Stags defeated the Chapman University Panthers (ranked 12th nationally by D3Hoops.com) Wednesday night 57-56 at the Hutton Sports Center in Orange.   CMS was led by Conner Faught (SR, Agoura Hills ) with 15 points and four rebounds and Shane Davis (JR, Vashon, WA [pictured]) had 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go along with five rebounds for the Stags. In the first half, the Panthers were held scoreless for the first few minutes as the Stags jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Justin Riley got the Panthers' first basket on a put-back. Chapman took its first lead of the game at 22-20 on a basket by senior guard Kyle Wood. With Chapman holding a 31-28 lead just before halftime, Ben Bergsma (SR, Chandler, AZ) scored a three-point play to even the score 31-31 sending the game into halftime tied.

The Stags led for much of the game, building its lead to as many as 12 points with 7:48 remaining in the second half on a pair of free throws by sophomore Joseph Anderson (Lafayette). With CMS up 52-40, Chapman ran off eight-straight points to narrow the margin to four. The Stags ended the run with a bucket by Bergsma pushing their lead back to six at 54-48. Down by seven points, Chapman answered with another 8-0 run, this time capped by a layup from junior Justin Riley to take a 56-55 lead with 43 seconds remaining. With 17 seconds remaining in the game, a put-back layup by Davis gave the Stags a 57-56 upset-win over No. 12 Chapman University. The Stags win ended the Panthers' 17-game win-streak as well as gave the SCIAC conference its first win over Chapman this year (the rest of the SCIAC is 0-4).

The Stags held Chapman to 33 percent shooting for the game and 13 percent from three-point range. Of the Panthers' 17 field goals, four came off of assists. The Stags shot 45% from the field, and out-rebounded the Panthers 35-32. CMS improved to 4-2 on the season.

The Stags return to action this Saturday night vs. Hope International at Ducey Gymnasium at 7:00 pm. Hope International comes into Claremont Saturday night with a 4-6 record and is averaging 56 points a game. They are led by Marko Torovic (15.3 pts/5.4 rebs), Brian Tollette (13.4 pts/5.5 rebs), and Marcellus Cullors (12.7 pts/4.5rebs).

The Stags final game of the fall semester is December 19 vs. Concordia University (NAIA #8). Game time is scheduled for 6:30 pm at Ducey Gymnasium.