ORANGE, Calif. – Everett Prussak scored six times and Ben Blatt allowed just three goals in the second half as the Chapman University men's water polo team secured a 12-11 win over Cal Lutheran on Wednesday.

With the win, the Panthers put themselves firmly in fourth place just past the midway point of the conference season. Chapman also snapped a two-match slide to improve to 10-8 on the year and 5-3 in the SCIAC.

The Panthers were forced to play from behind early on as the Cal Lutheran defense pressed from the opening whistle and the Kingsmen took a 2-0 lead out of the gate. The Panthers battled back to trail just 4-3 after the first quarter and 8-7 at halftime.

Blatt entered the pool and kept the Cal Lutheran offense from another scoring spree. He made three saves and allowed three goals as the defense helped him slow the high-scoring Kingsmen attack. Cal Lutheran scored the first goal of the second half but Prussak scored the next two for Chapman to tie the match at 9-9.

The teams took a 10-10 tie into the fourth quarter and it was Cal Lutheran that struck first on a 6-on-5 opportunity to go up 11-10. With just over two minutes remaining, Dylan Gallegos responded for Chapman to tie up the match at 11-11. On Chapman's next possession, Drake MacNichols worked to get open in the set and fired in the game-winner. Cal Lutheran's final two shots sailed wide and the Panthers ran out the clock to take the win.

In addition to his six goals, Prussak also had four steals and three drawn exclusions. Gallegos scored twice and Hudson Pak had three assists.

The Panthers host Whittier on Saturday at 11 a.m. for their final match in October.