Barry Gets Caught by Chapman : Weary Visitors Lead Early, but Panthers Rally to Win, 100-89

There were three reasons Chapman College had so much difficulty with Barry University before rallying for a 100-89 nonconference victory Thursday night at Hutton Sports Center in front of 450 spectators:

UC Riverside 97, Barry University 60.

Cal State Northridge 85, Barry University 55.

Cal State Bakersfield 75, Barry University 63.

Surely, the Panthers thought, a team that had played four games in six days, lost five in a row and 12 of its last 13, would stagger into Hutton Sports Center.

It did happen--eventually--and none too soon for Chapman.

Barry led, 41-29, before the Panthers cut the deficit to four points by halftime. And it looked as though Barry wouldn’t falter when it scored six straight points to start the second half.

Then there was another momentum switch, and Chapman began nicking away at Barry’s lead. The Panthers (9-4) finally went ahead--for the first time, and for good--with 12:12 remaining.

“I think at the start of the game we were thinking they had lost to those teams by 37, 30 and 12 points,” Chapman Coach Kevin Wilson said. “We were complacent. But we played much harder for that spurt in the second half.”

For Barry Coach Nick Creola, the difference could be summed up in a simple statistic: free throws.

Barry was 5 of 13 from the line; Chapman was 19 of 20. In fact, the Panthers didn’t miss until there was only 2:16 remaining.

“The free-throw line, that’s your answer,” said Creola, whose team is an independent Division II program from Miami Shores, Fla., in just its fourth season.

“That was the difference, but you have to give them credit, because they came from back from 11 points down a couple of times.”

What hurt the Panthers the most in the first half was Barry’s ability from three-point range, mostly in the form of 5-9 junior guard Darris Gallagher. Gallagher led the Buccaneers with 28 points including three three-point baskets. And Barry made six three-pointers while shooting 67 percent in the first half.

Kelly Huston led Chapman with 32 points and 8 rebounds. Russ Ortega added 18 points and David Roth had 14. Bryan Richetto offset his seven turnovers with 10 assists.

So, as Barry heads home with its 3-14 record, Creola offered his opinion on Chapman’s prospects heading into next week’s conference schedule.

“I think that Riverside, Northridge and Bakersfield are all excellent teams,” he said. “I might even like Northridge better than Riverside. And this team, I don’t think they’re too far behind.”

Freshman forward Kim Rieff hit two free throws with 48 seconds remaining to give the Chapman women (9-3) a 59-57 victory over Southern Utah State. It was Chapman’s fifth victory in a row. Karan Polk scored 23 points and Dana Dawson added 14 for Chapman.