REDLANDS, Calif. - Closing the first half with a 14-2 run, the nationally-ranked Chapman University Panthers broke open a close contest and cruised to a 73-45 victory over the George Fox University Bruins to win the 62nd Annual Lee Fulmer Men's Basketball Tournament Saturday night here at the University of Redlands' Currier Gym.

With Justin Riley scoring their first six points, the Panthers, ranked 18th in the D3hoops NCAA Division III poll, opened up a 14-4 lead seven minutes into the game.  George Fox finally got going behind Alex Stockner, who fueled a 16-8 rally with a jumper, a three-pointer, and two free throws.  Evan Atwater's three capped the outburst and pulled the Bruins within two points at 22-20 with 4:51 left in the half.  

Riley then keyed the Panthers' first-half closing rush by adding six more points to give the California team a 36-22 advantage at the break.  Chapman doubled the number of George Fox field goals in the period, shooting .483 (14-29) from the field to .304 (7-23) for the Bruins.

The Bruins would get no closer than the halftime score as the Panthers scored the first eight points of the final half to double the score at 44-22 with 16:41 left.  Atwater's jumper finally got the Bruins on the boards, but the Panthers remained comfortably in front, connecting on 14-30 (.467) field goals in the period to 8-28 .286) for George Fox.  The final totals showed the Panthers shooting .475 (28-59) and the Bruins only .294 (15-51) from the floor.  Chapman held a huge advantage on the boards, 45-26, including 19 offensive rebounds.

Stockner was the only Bruin to score in double figures, winding up with 14, and also led on the boards with five rebounds.  Stephen Wiseley handed out three assists.

Riley had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Panthers, while Jared Kaiser added 12 points and had a game-high nine rebounds.  Kaiser and Dan Aguilar had two assists each.

In other games Saturday, host Redlands took third place with a 95-68 victory over California Lutheran University, Menlo College defeated the University of California-Santa Cruz 79-75 in overtime for fifth place, and Willamette University knocked off West Coast Baptist College 87-62 for seventh place.

NOTES: Atwater was named to the All-Tournament Team, along with tourney MVP Riley, Julian Harris of Menlo, Matt Dietrich of Redlands, Aaron Fisher of Cal Lutheran, and Cameron Mitchell of Willamette.  The Sportsmanship Award went to Danny Galdamez of West Coast Baptist ... George Fox (3-2) returns to action Tuesday, visiting Corban College in Salem, Ore., for a 7:30 p.m. contest.  The Bruins defeated the Warriors 99-91 on Nov. 24 in Newberg for their first win of the season ... Chapman (7-0) hosts Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.