Late free throws secure SCIAC Tournament title - Mar 1, 2016
Freshman Cam Haslam (6'2''-G) sunk a pair of free throws with two seconds left on the clock to send the Chapman University men's basketball team to the NCAA Tournament with a 71-69 win over Redlands on Saturday. It is the Panthers second SCIAC Tournament in three years. Neither team held more than an eight point lead through the entire game nor the game became even tighter down the stretch. After the 10-minute mark of the second half, the teams were separated by two points or less until the final buzzer sounded with the Panthers holding the edge. Chapman opened the game on a 12-5 run and led by four at the half. Redlands erased the lead early in the second and kept a hot shooting hand throughout the final stanza, shooting 56.7 percent in the half and 50.8 percent in the game. After moving within one point of the lead with a three-pointer by Redlands' Blake O''Brien at the 14:06-mark in the second, Redlands grabbed its first lead of the game when Sean Milligan (6'2''-G) located Aljosa Bjekovic (6'5''-F) for a bucket from downtown to snag a two-point advantage at 49-47 with 12:56 left in the contest. Husslein maintained the lead by hitting back-to-back jumpers while notching a lay-up shortly after for Redlands' 55-51 lead nearing the midway point of the stanza. The hardwood stayed hot as the teams traded buckets and the lead in the final three minutes of the game. With Husslein and Bjekovic each hitting go-ahead jumpers under the three-minute mark, the Panthers successfully answered back each time. O'Brien followed by draining the biggest shot of his young career to tie the game at 69-all with less than seven seconds remaining. However, the Panthers drew a foul and knocked down two shots at the free-throw line on the ensuing possession, handing the Bulldogs the defeat. For Redlands, Bjekovic finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block. Kyle Husslein (6'2''-G) notched 14 points, while O'Brien drilled 13 points and hauled in five rebounds. Haslam scored 12 of his 21 points in the second half to help the Panthers come back from a small deficit. Luke Hamlin (6'2''-G) was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds to go along with three assists. Sophomore Rob Nelsen (6'5''-G) scored 10 points and James Taylor (6'8''-F) scored 12 while pulling down five boards.
Player of the Year: Cam Haslam (6'2''-G) of Chapman Newcomer of the Year: Daniel Rosenbaum (6'4''-G) of Pomona-Pitzer Coach of the Year: Mike Bokosky of Chapman
Bokosky
