The Chapman Panthers pushed their score all the way to 56 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 68-56 to Blue Ridge. Chapman has not had much luck with Blue Ridge recently, as the team's come up short the last seven times they've met.
Despite the loss, Chapman still got an impressive performance from Rashawn Cunningham, who scored 24 points. Cunningham continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Khamari Turner was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with nine rebounds and two blocks.
Leading Blue Ridge to victory were Paul Bishop and Nash Somero. Bishop scored 20 points along with nine rebounds and five assists, while Somero scored 34 points. That makes it three consecutive games in which Somero has scored at least a third of Blue Ridge's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Nicklaus Poole, who scored two points along with nine rebounds.
Chapman's defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-9. As for Blue Ridge, the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 8-12.
Chapman will head out on the road to square off against Broome at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Broome is out to stop a four-game streak of losses at home. Blue Ridge will take on Travelers Rest at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
