Chapman men’s basketball in first place of SCIAC

The Chapman University men’s basketball team, which includes assistant coaches Dan Krikorian and Mike Molina, took sole posssession of first place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 76-67 home victory over La Verne in Orange on Monday night.

Krikorian and Molina both played and coached basketball at Costa Mesa High.

Chapman played without its leading scorer, freshman Cam Haslam (20.8 points per game) who was out with a strained hamstring. In addition, sophomore James Taylor (12.4 ppg), the Panthers’ second leading scorer, was held well below his scoring average as he finished with one point.

Junior guard Luke Hamlin led Chapman (14-4, 8-2 in conference) with 22 points. Sophomore guard Rob Nelson (Tustin High) scored 18 points, while senior forward Davis Dragovich (nine rebounds) and sophomore guard Tyler Green were also in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

La Verne (8-10, 6-3) had beaten Chapman, 70-69, on a buzzer-beating three-pointer on Jan. 11.

Chapman, which is on a six-game winning streak, next plays at Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday at 5 p.m.

— Steve Virgen