ORANGE, Calif. – An early lead almost gave way to a furious comeback but the Chapman University men's water polo team held on for a 12-11 victory over visiting Occidental on Saturday. Jackson Sanders sealed the win with two saves on the final possession.

The Panthers had built a 9-3 lead in the final minute of the third quarter. They held the Tigers without a goal for over 15 minutes from the final minute of the first quarter until the late stages of the third quarter to build the big lead, which they ended up needing every goal.

While the Panthers held the Tigers down, they went on a 5-0 scoring streak to take command of the match. When the Tigers finally broke through with 1:02 left in the third, it opened the flood gates and they stormed back into the contest.

After scoring in the final second of the third quarter, Oxy scored six consecutive goals to make it 11-8. Everett Prussak scored the third goal of his hat trick  to give Chapman a much-needed 12th goal. Oxy continued to roar back into the game and scored the next two goals to get back within a goal and forced a turnover with 28 seconds left for one final opportunity.

Sanders turned away one shot by deflecting it over the goal and swatted down the final shot to preserve the victory. Sanders made 14 saves for the Panthers while Prussak had three goals to go along with two assists. Devin Castillo had two goals and three assists.

The Panthers stay home on Wednesday to take on Whittier at 7 p.m. in another crucial SCIAC matchup as both teams jockey for a position in the top-5.