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ORANGE — Caleb Yellin-Flaherty led five Occidental men's basketball players in double figures with 20 points on 8 for 13 shooting as the Tigers picked up their biggest win of the season, 77-66 at Chapman on Wednesday night.
Yellin-Flaherty hit big shots down the stretch, including a trio of 3-pointers that helped the Tigers open up a double-digit lead with less than 8 minutes to play. He had one from each corner and one from the wing.
Yellin-Flaherty is averaging 18.3 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game in 32.8 minutes.
Chapman cut the lead to six points with 2:34 left, but the Tigers were able to take care of the ball, break the press and finish in transition to run away with the victory.
Sydney Shipp was good in the open court for Oxy, finishing with 17 points on 8 for 14 shooting, to go along with a pair of steals and three rebounds.
Jacob Adler had 12 points, five assists and four rebounds, Ryan Kaneshiro had 10 points, eight assists and five rebounds, Evan Dray had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Kyle Dosa had seven points and three rebounds.
Kaneshiro, who led the nation in assist to turnover ratio and set Oxy's single-season assist record last season, is leading the SCIAC with 7.3 assists per game through three conference games. He is continuing to protect the ball well, get Oxy into its offense and set players up for good scoring opportunties. He has 73 assists and just 15 turnovers in 12 total games played this season.
Anthony Hollerich gave Oxy some solid minutes off the bench in the first half, getting loose balls and playing scrappy inside.
The undersized Tigers rebounded well as a team, swarming to the ball in the first half after getting stops, helping them jump out to a 41-31 lead.
Chapman made a run to even the game early in the second half, but Oxy was able to regain momentum and tighten up its play.
Hayden Moore led Chapman with a game-high 24 points, including five threes. He got open looks early in the game on offensive rebounds, broken plays and transition opportunities.
Season Impact: Oxy improves to 9-3 overall and 1-2 in SCIAC.
Chapman falls to 9-3 overall and 2-2 in SCIAC.
Next Game: Oxy is back in action on the road on Saturday, playing at Cal Lutheran at 2 p.m.