Chapman’s Rally Falls Short, 66-61

Southern Utah State scored five straight points in the final 1:22 Saturday night to pull away from Chapman en route to a 66-61 win in the championship game of the McDonalds Tipoff Tournament at Cedar City, Utah.

The Panthers (1-1), who trailed by 10 points early in the second half, closed the Thunderbirds’ lead to one, 61-60, with 1:22 left on a Paul Rollins layup. But Southern Utah’s Maz Trakh responded with three straight free throws, one the result of a technical foul called on Chapman’s Jim Saia, to give the Thunderbirds a four-point cushion with 22 seconds remaining.

Southern Utah then scored with 12 seconds left to put the game away before 2,372 fans in The Centrum.

Thunderbird guard Russell Otis led all scorers with 23 points, and forward Alex Adams added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Chapman was led by Mike Kelly, who scored 18 points, and Karl Tompkins, who added 14. Kelly and Chapman forward Jon Samuelson were named to the all-tournament team.

Chapman returns home to play UC Davis Friday night in the Hutton Sports Center.