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The Colleges : Chapman Falls Short Against UC Riverside

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Times Staff Writer

Chapman College did everything in its power to beat UC Riverside in men’s basketball Saturday night.

The Panthers were patient on offense and stingy on defense. They rebounded the ball well, passed the ball well, even shot the ball well.

Well . . . they lost.

The Highlanders rallied in the second half for a 76-72 victory in front of 947 at Highlander Gym in Riverside. In doing so, the Highlanders avoided losing their second consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Assn. game.

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On Thursday, Riverside lost to Cal State Dominguez Hills to become the soon-to-be-former No. 1 team in Division II.

“We were right there with a chance to beat Riverside on the road,” Chapman Coach Rich Prospero said. “We were right there at the end with a chance to win.”

But Chapman didn’t lose this game at the end.

Oh sure, it took four free throws by Chris Ceballos in the final 13 seconds to give the Highlanders (20-3 overall, 9-1 in the conference) the victory. But the Panthers lost this one 15 minutes earlier.

Chapman (12-11, 5-5) had slowed the pace in the first half, using most of the 45-second shot clock, in an effort to derail a Riverside offense that had scored 31 consecutive points against the Panthers in a game earlier this season.

It worked, as the Panthers held a 35-27 halftime lead.

The second half started with more of the same. Baskets by Mark Hilton and Bryan Richetto pushed the lead to 11, 40-29, with 16:56 left.

Riverside then went to a full-court press, which immediately paid off.

Maurice Pullum (19 points) sparked a 17-4 run that put the Highlanders in the lead, 46-44, with 11:24 left.

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Down the stretch, the Highlanders turned to Ceballos, who had a career-high 24 points and scored his team’s final eight.

Chapman Notes

Guard Kevin Stafford has been dismissed from the Chapman College basketball team, Panther Coach Rich Prospero said Saturday night. Stafford was averaging 8.3 points per game off the bench. “This is in the best interest of the team,” Prospero said.

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