ORANGE, Calif.— Chapman men's basketball roared back after trailing by as many as 18 points with just over 16 minutes to play, going on to defeat La Verne 79-75 at home Saturday afternoon. 

The Panthers joyfully kicked off the afternoon celebrating their four seniors: Luke Farrington, Jackson Bernardo, Cruz Billings and Jake Heberle. The capped it off by taking their first lead of the second half lead with just 1:23 to play in regulation. Chapman eventually clinched the massive win when Billings knocked down three free throws to end off regulation and give the Panthers a two possession lead. 

Sophomore guard Daniel Cojocaru was the man of the hour leading Chapman with 21 points and four rebounds while shooting 9/12 from the the field. He also knocked down two 3-pointers. He provided the jolt the Panthers desperately craved in the second half, knocking down essentially 12 cosnecutive points in a short spurt when he checked in early in the second half. 

Billings added another 13 points while knocking down seven of eight free throws. Sophomore Joe Keegan added 10 points of his own along with eight rebounds. 

Defensively, Chapman shut the Leopards down in the second half. The Panthers held them to just 27 points, 35% shooting from the field and 22% shooting from behind-the-arc. That came after it felt as if La Verne could not miss in the first half making 6/9 three-pointers. The Panthers also had 49 bench points to go along with 36 points in the paint. 

Chapman now sits at 15-8 overall and 9-5 in SCIAC play. They sit in fourth in the conference positioned to currently make the conference tournament with two games remaining in their regular season. The Panthers will return home on Wednesday, Feb. 18 against the team currently sitting in third in the SCIAC: Occidental.