Stags earn No. 4 seed in SCIAC Postseason Tournament to face Chapman in semifinal

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The top four teams in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) face off in the Postseason Tournament on Friday (Feb. 26) and Saturday (Feb. 27) this week. The seeding for the postseason tournament came down to the final day of games. Ultimately, Chapman (12-4) won the regular season and will host the No. 4 seed, CMS (8-8) in one semifinal. Whittier (9-7) and Redlands (9-7) tied for second place in conference but Whittier won the tie-break and earned the No. 2 seed and hosting privileges for the No. 3 seed, Redlands, in the other semifinal.

Both semifinal games will be held on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. and the final will be played at the highest remaining seed's house on Saturday, Feb. 27. The winner of the final earns the automatic qualification to the NCAA tournament. Check the men's basketball schedule for further game information.

CMS will travel to Chapman for the semifinal game in the Hutton Sports Center on Friday night. As this is a conference playoff event, admission will be charged as follows:

• All SCIAC students, faculty, and staff with institutional ID: Free
• Children 12 years of age and under: Free
• General Admission: $10
• Seniors (55+) and Military: $5

The game can be followed online via a video broadcast for a $10 fee (per SCIAC regulations) or for free with live stats.

The No. 4 seed, CMS leads the conference defensively only allowing 63.9 points per game. Many Stags contribute to the CMS offense with four current players averaging over seven points per game. They are led by sophomore Michael Scarlett (CMC) at 11.3 and senior Shelby Lane (CMC) at 8.4 points. Scarlett and freshman Evan Davis (CMC) each hit at least one-three pointer per game and average over 36 percent. The Stags are captained by senior Jack Earley (CMC) who is second in the conference for minutes per game at 36.8.

Chapman puts up 74 points each game and has four shooters averaging over 10 points. One of the Panthers' freshmen, Cam Haslam, earned a starting spot beginning the first game and is now second in SCIAC for shooting at 19.5 points per game. Supporting Haslam's scoring efforts are Luke Hamlin at 13, James Taylor at 12.2 and Rob Nelson and 10.4 points per game. Both Taylor and Halsam contribute to Chapman boing second in SCIAC for blocks per game with 3.5.

CMS faces Chapman for the second time in less than a week. On Tuesday night, the Stags won 77-73 to earn fourth place outright in the conference standings. On Jan. 16, CMS came up short 77-71 to the Panthers for a 1-1 regular season split.

By Emily Nordhoff
Sports Information Director

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