The University of Wisconsin men's basketball team (5-1) continued to show they possess a variety of scoring options, as it seems that every game a new player steps up with a breakout performance. This Saturday it was junior forward Jason Chappell, who shot his way into the spotlight and made his presence felt early and often during the Badgers 71-55 victory over Pepperdine at the Kohl Center Saturday.
After Pepperdine (1-4) took an early 2-1 lead, the New Berlin, Wis. native stepped outside the arc and hit a 3-point basket that would ultimately put the Badgers up for good. With the Waves focusing early on containing junior forward Alando Tucker, Chappell continued to find himself open and made the most of his opportunities as he paced Wisconsin early with 12 of the team's first 27 points.
'If they're not going to come out and play him, he can knock those shots down,' Badger head coach Bo Ryan said. 'That stretches the defense; he took advantage of what they were giving him.'
'The first couple games, I was just trying to get out on the floor and get used to playing with these guys and get a feel for the offense and what you can do out of it,' Chappell said following his career-high 15-point performance. 'Since then I've got a lot more comfortable and tried to look for my shot a little bit more.'
Sophomore forward/center Brian Butch also enjoyed a strong first half, scoring all nine of his points in it and helping the Badgers close to double digits for much of the first half.
In the second period it looked as though the Badgers might run away with the game, as they jumped out of the gates and quickly pushed their halftime lead of 10 to 19 in the first five minutes behind a combined nine points from Tucker and junior point guard Kammron Taylor.
But Pepperdine continued to chip away at the lead, and a lay-up by sophomore center Jarrad Henry closed the gap to nine. But, as he has done throughout his entire career in the cardinal and white, Tucker stepped up when he was needed most and made a big shot to swing momentum back into the Badgers corner.
'I thought that they were making a run, and I knew that's where I had to make an attack,' Tucker said. 'It's always about picking your spots, and that was a time I really thought I had to be aggressive.'
Wisconsin continued to build back its lead as both Tucker and sophomore guard Michael Flowers hit 3-pointers. Taylor drove inside and made a tough runner off the glass and drew a foul, much to the delight of the sellout crowd at the Kohl Center. Following his made free-throw with 7:33 to play, the Badgers held their largest lead of the game at 60-39.
The Badgers are in action again this Wednesday at the Kohl Center, as they take on UW-Green Bay at 7 p.m.
