Men's Basketball falls at Chapman, 76-67

Men's Basketball falls at Chapman, 76-67

ORANGE, Calif. — Jordan Stokes had a career night and Hakim Arnold poured in 23 points but the University of La Verne men's basketball team fell, 76-67, at Chapman on Monday night at Hutton Sports Center.

La Verne falls to 8-10 overall and 6-3 in SCIAC play. Chapman improves to 8-2 in the SCIAC (14-4 overall) and creates a little separation at the top of the standings while the Leopards are tied for second with Whittier.

A 14-0 second half burst by the Panthers proved the difference. La Verne opened the half with an 8-2 run to grab a 41-35 lead but missed the next five shots while squandering a handful of second chance opportunities as Chapman made its run. The Panthers were a perfect 3-of-3 from the field during the stretch and made 8-of-9 free throws.

Stokes and Arnold did all they could to keep the Leopards in the game as they combined for 24 points and 12 rebound in the second half. Stokes registered the first double-double of his career, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Arnold added seven rebounds to go along with his 23 points.

Free throws hurt the Leopards for the second game in a row. After allowing 24 trips to the line to UC Santa Cruz on Friday—23 of which were converted—La Verne gave up 30 free throws to Chapman and Panthers made 22.

Luke Hamlin, who was limited to 11 points and committed seven turnovers in the first meeting of the two teams on Jan. 11, paced the Panthers with 22 points. Davis Dragovich had 14 points and nine rebounds and Rob Nelson finished with 18 points.

La Verne is back in action on Wednesday at Cal Lutheran.