Kingsmen Fall in Overtime to Panthers

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Another valiant effort, another disappointing ending for the Kingsmen. For the third consecutive game, the Cal Lutheran men’s basketball team took a lead going into the locker room at half only to see it vanish in the second as the Kingsmen fell 67-58 in overtime to Chapman Saturday night.

Cal Lutheran used some hot-shooting to gain the upper-hand in the first half, shooting 54 percent from the field and tacked on three three-pointers to lead 33-25 at the break.

After going back in forth for the opening minutes of the second half, CLU looked to have taken the lead for good when Corey Quintana hit a jumper and put the Kingsmen up by eight at 46-38 with 11:43 left to play.

But that wasn’t the case as Chapman stormed back with a 9-1 run that was capped with three-point play when Nick Dragovich hit a jumper in the paint despite being fouled. He would sink the free throw, giving CU their first lead since 48-47 with 6:50 left in the second half.

Cal Lutheran would recapture the lead on the following possession when Jayvaughn Nettles drew a foul and hit both his shots from the free throw line, putting CLU up 49-48.

The Kingsmen would have their chances in the final five minutes to put the game away but CLU got cold at the wrong time, converting on just 5-16 baskets in the second half.

Chapman capitalized and tied the game up again at 56 all when Justin Young made a lay-up with 1:18 left in the game.

On CLU’s final possession, guard Dan Wade held the ball until making his move with six seconds left. The freshman drove to the top of the key and pulled up for a jumper in the face of two Chapman defenders. His shot went wide but Michael Palmer was able to deflect the ball off a CU player and out of bounds, giving CLU one more shot with just two seconds left on the shot clock. CLU would get the in-bounds pass to Nettles in the left corner for a three but a Panther defender altered the shot and Chapman collected the rebound as the game-ended in regulation in a 56-56 tie.

Chapman got all the points they would need on the first possession of overtime when Jordan Young hit a three-pointer, putting CU up 59-56.

Andrew Atakpo would draw a foul and earn two free-throws on CLU’s following possession. The sophomore center would hit both drawing CLU to within one but Cal Lutheran would miss all five of their shots from the floor in overtime as Chapman pulled away with a 67-58 victory.

Cal Lutheran was led offensively by Wade’s 14 points. Nettles had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Quintana finished in double figures with 12.

Chapman was led by Colin Zavrsnik and Young who each scored 14 points. Taylor Hamasaki and Justin Young had 13 a piece to round out the Panther scorers in double figures.

With the win, Chapman improves to 9-7overall and 4-3 in the SCIAC. With the loss, Cal Lutheran drops to 7-10 overall and 3-5 in the SCIAC.

The Kingsmen return to action next Wednesday, January 23, when they travel to Redlands to take on the Bulldogs with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.

Box score: CU 67 CLU 58
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