FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PANTHERS RALLY BACK, BUT FALL TO NO. 14 PLATTSBURGH STATE

ORANGE, Calif. – Chapman University rallied from an 11-point second half deficit, but could not pull off the upset as No. 14-ranked Plattsburgh State University (N.Y.) defeated the Panthers 65-63 in the opening game of the Tiger/Panther Tournament at Hutton Center on Tuesday night. Chapman trailed by one point in the closing seconds, but couldn’t get any closer.

Plattsburgh’s Anthony Williams led all scorers with 31 points and added three assists. His free throw with one second remaining in the game sealed the victory for the undefeated (7-0) Cardinals.

Chapman (7-4) lost its second straight game for the first time this season. Sophomore G Kyle Wood led the Panthers with 16 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Sophomore C Jared Kaiser added 11 points and five rebounds for Chapman. The loss leaves Panthers’ head coach Mike Bokosky needing one victory to become the school’s all-time winningest coach. He is currently at 258-131 in his career.

It was also Chapman’s first home loss of the season and snapped an eight-game home winning streak.

-------------------------

Occidental 77, Pacific Union 40
In Game 1 of the Tiger/Panther Tournament held at Chapman, the Tigers defeated Pacific Union thanks, in part, to a double-double from Chris Hunt, who led all players with 18 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Huston Conti (15 points) and Connor Whitman (11 points, three three-pointers) also reached double digits for Occidental (5-2). Brandon Monty scored 10 points for Pacific Union (0-10).

###

Game stats available online:
OXY-PUC: /athletics/07-08/mbasketball/puc-oxy.htm
CU-PSU: /athletics/07-08/mbasketball/psu-cu.htm