FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHAPMAN NETS THIRD STRAIGHT INDEPENDENTS CHAMPIONSHIP

ORANGE, Calif. – Chapman University men’s basketball defeated U.C. Santa Cruz 74-51 Saturday night at Hutton Center to become the Division III Independents West Region tournament champion for the third year in a row.

Chapman (20-7) was led by senior F Miguel Bennett who collected his ninth career double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore G Kyle Wood pitched in with 12 points and six assists and sophomore F Dan Aguilar finished the game with 10 rebounds and five assists.

Both Bennett and Wood were named to the All-Tournament team while Bennett was also recognized as the tournament MVP.

U.C. Santa Cruz’s (3-24) production came from Jon Morrison who had 12 points and five rebounds. Ryan Matsuoka had five points and three assists and was named to the All-Tournament team for the Banana Slugs.

The win gave the Panthers’ their third consecutive 20 win season under head coach Mike Bokosky.

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Nebraska Wesleyan 79, Dallas 67
Top-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan won the consolation game of the DIII Independents Tournament with five players scoring in double figures for the Prairie Wolves. Dylan Alyward led Wesleyan with 19 points including three three-pointers. Dallas’ Joe Packard led all scorers with 20 points.

All-Tournament Team
Marcus Minzel, NWU
Nick Netsch, UD
Ryan Matsuoka, UCSC
Kyle Wood, CU
Miguel Bennett, CU – MVP

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Game stats available online:
/athletics/07-08/mbasketball/ucsc-cu3.htm