Chapman Gets Dunked by Dominguez Hills’ Burrell, 93-66

Those wild and crazy guys, the Chapman College Panthers, were at it again Friday night, once more pulling the rug out from under anyone expecting some semblance of predictability and continuity from this basketball team.

One week after stunning Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal State Bakersfield on their home floors--two poised, inspired performances that seemed to signal a turning point in Chapman’s elevator-like season--the Panthers slipped back into the tank against Cal State Dominguez Hills, losing by 27 points to a team whose best player looks more adept at dunking doughnuts than basketballs.

With pudgy Kevin Burrell, a living, breathing Fat Albert in high-tops, sinking seven of eight shots for 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, Dominguez Hills handed Chapman its worst conference defeat in four years, 93-66, before 280 fans in the Toros’ gym.

And, for a while, it looked as if it would wind up a lot worse than that. Dominguez Hills shot 73% in the first half and maintained a similar pace in the opening minutes of the second, building up as much as a 35-point (70-35) lead.

Only a mini-comeback by the Panther reserves during Scrub Time prevented the point spread from reaching the 40s.

Had this sort of thing happened last week, it could have been shrugged off as nothing really unexpected. San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield are perennial California Collegiate Athletic Assn. powers, playing in two of the conference’s most hostile home environs.

Dominguez Hills was picked to finish seventh in the preseason CCAA poll. And with throngs of 280 turning out for home games, the Toros’ gym will never be classified as a pit.

But after dismantling Chapman’s defense Friday, Dominguez Hills is a surprising 5-2 at the midway point of the conference season, tied for first with UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge, and 15-6 overall. The Panthers dropped to 3-4 in the CCAA and 12-8 overall.

If Chapman had gathered any momentum from its central California upsets, it was left behind somewhere along the Grapevine. Friday’s excursion to Carson represented a major step back for the Panthers.

“Maybe it’s three steps back,” Chapman Coach Kevin Wilson said. “I don’t know what it is--the one-game week (the Panthers have a bye tonight), the ride over here, what they ate for lunch.”

Or maybe it was what Burrell ate for lunch. The 6-7, 270-pound senior certainly looks as if he hasn’t missed many during his 21 years. He’s a small-college version of Charles Barkley, a roly-poly package of instant point production.

You’ve heard the line: It ain’t over until the fat lady sings. Well, at Dominguez Hills, it ain’t started until the fat kid shoots.

Burrell is the third all-time leading scorer in Dominguez Hills history, and, against Chapman, he showed why. Deceptively quick and equipped with a soft shooting touch, Burrell was all but unstoppable whenever he decided to take the ball to the basket.

Burrell made an impression with Chapman, all right, although Wilson tried to downplay it.

“I don’t think he did anything that single-handedly won the game for them,” Wilson said.

And Wilson was right. Surrounded by teammates who shot 63% from the field as a group, Burrell wasn’t alone. William Alexander (14 points), Brian Edwards (13), Tim Watson (13) and Willie Thomas (11) all scored in double figures for the Toros.

For Chapman, too, it was a team effort. While the defense floundered, the offense shot 47.5% from the field and 53% from the foul line.

That left the Panthers with four CCAA losses and half a conference schedule remaining. Wilson has said a 9-5 record could win the title.

That may be beyond Chapman’s capabilities now, as even Wilson had to admit. As he put it, “I didn’t say we’d be 9-5, did I?”

CHAPMAN (66)--Ross 6, Kelly 6, Clark 11, Jones 2, Briggs 8, Weninger 6, Williams 15, Cato 1O, Brennan 2.

DOMINGUEZ HILLS (93)--B. Watson 4, Thomas 11, Nojima 4, Shorters 2, Alexander 14, Nomaaea 11, Edwards 13, Coleman 3, T. Watson 13, Burrell 18.

Halftime--Dominguez Hills, 46-31.

Attendance--280.