ORANGE, Calif. – Another 20-point night from Jake Heberle led the Chapman University men's basketball team to a 68-62 win over Whittier on Wednesday. The win put Chapman alone in fourth place in the SCIAC standings with four games to go.

The Panthers won their seventh game in a row on their home floor and improved to 10-2 in the Hutton Sports Center. Chapman is 7-5 in SCIAC play and 13-8 overall.

Heberle scored 24 points to lead the Panthers. He has scored at least 20 points in each of the last four games and 10 times this season. He knocked down 3-of-5 three-point attempts and went 9-for-9 from the free throw line while also grabbing seven rebounds.

Joe Keegan added in 11 points while Scott Schulz grabbed eight rebounds and Cruz Billings tallied five assists.

The Panthers jumped out to an 11-point lead in the first half but saw that almost disappear by halftime. Schulz dropped in a shot at the rim just before the buzzer to make it 34-31 Chapman at the half. Whittier stormed back to take an early lead in the early goings of the second half before Chapman responded with an 8-1 run to give the Panthers the lead for good.

Jackson Bernardo led a solid bench effort with nine of Chapman's 23 bench points and pushed the Panthers' lead to double digits near the halfway mark of the second half. The Poets fought back and cut the lead down to as little as three points with less than two minutes to play but a three-pointer from Keegan and four clutch free throws from Heberle sealed the victory.

Chapman heads to Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday for a crucial SCIAC matchup for both teams as six teams jockey for position in the five-team SCIAC Tournament. Chapman returns home on Feb. 14 for Senior Day against La Verne at 2 p.m.