District 3 Preview : Lutheran Playing Catch-Up

When Ed Anderson began his second season as basketball coach at Cal Lutheran College on Nov. 20, he expected his 1984-85 team at least to teeter on the .500 plateau by the time National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 conference play began.

The Kingsmen have played far below those expectations, however, over their first 19 games.

“For various reasons we didn’t get the job done,” Anderson said. “We’re not playing up to our capabilities. We felt we had good shooting, but it has faltered. We thought we had team size, but we’ve been hurt on the boards.”

And so on. The struggling Kingsmen have yielded 75 . 5 points per game, while averaging 66.9 points on offense. That has led to a 5-14 record with 13 games to play.

Their most frustrating game of the season came Nov. 30 at Cal State Northridge. They led the Matadors by four points with three minutes left in the third overtime, but lost, 88-86, in four overtimes.

The majority of Cal Lutheran’s defeats, however, have not been that close. Eight were by 14 points or more; they lost four by 20 or more. The team hit bottom last Friday when Cal State Bakersfield humbled them, 102-55.

The Kingsmen have lost 13 of their last 16. They are 3-10 on the road and 0-5 in tournament games.

As far as his team’s strengths are concerned, Anderson said: “We don’t seem to have any right now.”

Cal Lutheran has not employed a set starting lineup since the season began. Anderson has started more than a half a dozen combinations in an attempt to find a cohesive unit.

A key injury also clouds the picture. Team captain Dave Lareva, who made his 100th consecutive start in a 67-46 home loss Dec. 14 against Claremont-Mudd, has missed the last four games and is out of action indefinitely.

The senior forward--who is the third on the team in scoring, with a 9.8 average, and in rebounding, with a 6.4 average--suffered a slight tear of the lateral meniscus cartilage in his left knee during an 89-72 loss Dec. 22 to Chapman. He reinjured the knee in the final game of the Chico Tournament.

Anderson’s starting lineup now consists of junior Pat Gibbs, the team’s leading scorer at 13.8 per game, and senior John Oldenburg at guard. He also has seniors Erik Slattum and Mark Korshavn at forward, and 6-6 junior Steve Cotner at center.

The Kingsmen--who have never won a division title in basketball--finished fourth last season even though they won their first eight games. They were 4-9 against conference opponents and 14-16 overall, including a 72-63 defeat at Westmont in the NAIA playoffs.

Anderson is frustrated by this season’s 4-14 non-conference record, but remains confident of making the playoffs. To do that, he said, the team must win its sets against Northern Division rivals Fresno Pacific (4-10) and L.A. Baptist (10-5), then split with division powers Biola and Westmont. They began the season with a 53-52 victory Jan. 8 at Point Loma.

“Our opponents have been very strong most of the year,” Anderson said, “but we’re not giving up the ship.”

Biola is enjoying a 14-2 record, including a 79-77 five-overtime victory over Cal Baptist Nov. 30 in the semifinals of the Redlands Tournament. The Biola defense is surrendering just 51.8 points per game. Their offense, led by senior Scott Haversik’s 16.7-point average and senior Lloyd Scott’s 7.3 rebounds per game, is scoring at a 60.8 points-per-game clip.

Westmont’s 11-3 Warriors, who extended their winning streak to five by beating Cal Baptist Tuesday night, have relied heavily on Troy Knechtel. The 6-10 center is leading the defending Northern Division champs in scoring and rebounding, averaging 18.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

Most Northern Division coaches regard Point Loma and Southern California College as the class of the Southern Division. They are split between Biola and Westmont as the favorite in their own division.