Division 3 School Beats Chapman, 61-60 : Nebraska Wesleyan Gets 28 Points From 6-8 Center Dana Janssen

Chapman College began the second half of its 1984-85 campaign on a decidedly sour note Tuesday night, losing to Nebraska Wesleyan, 61-60, in a nonconference game in the Hutton Sports Center in front of 300.

Blame a two-week layoff, or the holiday blahs, or Nebraska Wesleyan’s size, or whatever, but the Panthers played as if they were uninspired from the outset. Chapman got behind early, battled back to take the lead midway in the second half, only to see Nebraska Wesleyan win the game.

The Panthers did have a chance to win it at the very end, but having to travel three-quarters of the court in only two seconds doesn’t lend itself to great shot selection, and sure enough an attempted lob play to Karl Cato near the basket was blocked away and the Plainsmen had the victory.

Nebraska Wesleyan (7-2), a Division 3 school, got what proved to be the winning basket with 30 seconds to play by doing what they had been doing most effectively all game long--working the ball inside to 6-8 center Dana Janssen.

Janssen, who scored a game-high 28 points, put the ball in the basket off of the backboard from close range, giving the Plainsmen a one-point lead at time when the lead had been see-sawing for the previous 10 minutes after the Panthers had initially caught up.

Chapman’s Wali Jones tried a long jump shot with nine seconds to play, it missed, and fellow Panther Mike Kelly was called for a foul after the Plainsmens’ Mark Grabau grabbed the rebound with five seconds to play.

Grabau missed the front end of a one-and-one foul shot and the ball went out of bounds off his leg amid the scramble for the rebound. Chapman then took control for its last attempt with two seconds to play, but couldn’t connect.

“It’s definitely a big win for us,” Plainsmen Coach Jerry Schmutte said. “We’re more than happy with it, especially since I thought we were in big trouble when when we were three-four points down.”

The Plainsmen were actually down by as much as five points with 7:25 to play, following a free throw by the Panthers’ Mike Kelly. Nebraska Wesleyan had led 37-30 at halftime, but saw the lead disappear behind the outside shooting of Jones and the inside scoring and rebounding of Cato, the Panthers’ center.

Jones finished with 23 points and Cato had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Both players were instrumental in the Panthers second-half surge, one that saw the quicker Panthers outrun the bigger Plainsmen.

After Chapman took its initial lead at 53-51 with 9:50 to play, the game’s pace slowed. This is when the Panthers reverted to their four-corners offense, one that is not a stall, according to Chapman Coach Kevin Wilson, but rather one that seeks to spread out the defense, hoping to set up an easy shot.

Chapman did get its shots from the offense and built the five-point lead, but it also started missing shots, which allowed the patient Plainsmen back in the game.

Nebraska Wesleyan favors a slow-down, set-up offense, disdaining the running game that allowed Chapman to rally in the first place. They Plainsmen like to work the ball inside to Janssen or let Grabau, who scored 12 points, shoot inside the 20-foot range.

So, the Plainsmen crept back behind the scoring of Janssen and Grabau, and the Panthers hurt themselves in the last seven minutes with costly fouls and turnovers.

Nebraska Wesleyan regained the lead with 2:40 to play, 59-58, on a steal and layup by reserve forward Randy Larsen. Chapman went ahead on a 25-foot shot by Jones with a little more than a minute left, making it 60-59 Chapman. But then came the Plainsmens’ last inside play to Janssen and the Panthers’ futile attempts.

Chapman might look back at the one-point loss with regret, but considering how poorly it played at the outset, it was lucky to have a chance to win at the end.

Nebraska Wesleyan gained a 13-2 lead and threatened to turn it into a rout before Jones entered the game midway through the first half. Jones injected some life into the Panther attack, scoring 12 of his 23 points in his first 10 minutes of action.

Chapman (5-4) meets Concordia of Nebraska in the Hutton Sports Center at 8 tonight. If the Panthers want to record their first win of 1985 they will have to play intensely for an entire game, not only one half.

NEBRASKA WESLEYAN (61)--Steen 4, Grabau 12, Sullivan 3, Payne 4, Cook 2, Janssen 28, Larsen 6, Ashley 2.

CHAPMAN COLLEGE (60)--Ross 4, Kelly 11, Jones 23, Marusich 2, Williams 10, Cato 10.

Halftime--Nebraska Wesleyan, 37-30.