THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — On his senior night, Palmer Chaplin scored double-digit points for the 13th time this year as Cal Lutheran men's basketball hung close for 30 minutes before Whittier put on the finishing touches and won 82-65 on Wednesday night.
Before the game, Chaplin was celebrated and honored, while he was joined on the court by family and friends.
Chaplin was one of three Kingsmen to hit double-digits during the game. Brooks Mallory made five three-pointers and totaled 15 points, Cole Thomas recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds and Chaplin was next with 13 points. Chaplin did a little bit of everything in his final game as he added five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
The other two starters were Jarrett Powers and Miles Houston. Powers dished out a game-high nine assists and Houston pulled down nine rebounds and made two blocks. Logan McCullough came off the bench and score eight points.
The Kingsmen owned the turnover difference as they only committed 10 and forced the Poets into 16. However, the points off turnovers was almost similar as Whittier outscored Cal Lutheran 9 to 8.
The biggest difference in the three-point games was from three-point range. Whittier shot 43.6-percent from deep and hit 17 three-pointers. On the other side, the Kingsmen made 10 and had a percentage of 25.6.
Senior night did not start the way the Kingsmen wanted as the Poets jumped out to a quick 22-6 over the first seven-and-a-half minutes.
Cal Lutheran weathered the storm and a came back with a scoring run of eight straight points to make it a 25-16 deficit. Mallory nailed two three-pointers and Thomas and Powers both added a layup.
The Kingsmen brought it all the way back to a five-point difference after a McCullough three, making it 33-28 with 4:31 left.The teams exchanged buckets the rest of the way as Whittier took a 41-33 lead at the half.
CLU opened the second half with five straight points, a three from Mallory and a layup from Houston, and the lead was down to just three points. The Kingsmen kept it close over the next few minutes and the senior came up clutch as Palmer made it 51-49 with 12:48 left.
Whittier answered with an 11-3 run and pushed the lead back to double digits. The Poets never let the Kingsmen back in the game and took the game 82-65.
Cal Lutheran ended their 202 season with a 4-21 record and a 2-14 mark in SCIAC play.
Box Score: WC 82, CLU 65
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
