ORANGE, Calif. — A hard fought first half by Cal Lutheran men's basketball was not enough as the Chapman Panthers were able to pull away in the second half and defeated the Kingsmen 63-43 on Wednesday night. 

Cole Thomas led the Kingsmen with 15 points, on 75-percent shooting, and added seven rebounds. On the other side, the Panthers were carried by Hayden Moore's 27 points and five rebounds.

Cal Lutheran started off hot from behind the arc keeping them close to the Panthers as the game went back and forth for a majority of the first half. It was more of a defensive battle and the Kingsmen were up for the task. The low scoring half saw Cal Lutheran down a bucket, 26-24. 

Going into the second half, the Panthers looked determined to put an end to the Kingsmen's hopes to steal a gritty, away game. The Panthers did just that, using a 14-5 run, as they got an early lead and never looked back. 

The Panthers ended the game with 42 rebounds, 15 of which were offensive rebounds. They were able to capitalize and score 15 points off second chance opportunities which would prove to be costly for the Kingsmen.

Thomas would give the Kingsmen some hope late in the second half. But the Kingsmen would face a 14 point deficit  with a little less than seven minutes left and were never quite able to make a run to get them back in the game as the Panthers won 63-43.

The Kingsmen lost their third straight game putting them at 3-17 overall and 1-10 in conference. Their next game is away as they'll face the Occidental Tigers in another SCIAC conference showdown on Saturday February the 8th at 2pm.

Box Score: CU 63, CLU 43
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director; Antonio Welch, Sports Information Assistant