In Game of Have-Nots, Chapman Has More Than San Luis Obispo, 61-57

Misery had company Saturday night when two teams playing Can-You-Top-This? with misfortune got together in Chapman College’s Hutton Sports Center.

Hosting the affair were Chapman’s Panthers, down to eight able--and eligible--bodies after it was discovered 24 hours earlier that forward Johnny Williams and guard Derrick Clark had not yet been registered for spring semester classes.

And on the visitors’ bench were the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs, mired in the midst of a six-game losing streak that had to be seen to be believed. Overtime losses, missed shots at the buzzer, last-minute collapses--the Mustangs had been witness to them all.

So, what happens when you bring in one luckless team and pit it against another luckless team?

One team comes up with one more bad break than the other.

In this case, it was San Luis Obispo, which saw forward Nate Hatten bungle a cinch lay up that could have drastically altered what turned out to be a 61-57 victory for Chapman.

Here was the situation:

Chapman led by a basket (59-57) with 26 seconds left when Mustang Coach Ernie Wheeler called for a timeout. In the San Luis Obispo huddle, Wheeler laid out the strategy--get the ball in deep to Hatten, who had already powered his way for 18 points.

The play developed in near-textbook form--at least until the end. Hatten did get the ball in the lane, and he did take it to the basket, driving over 6-2 Panther forward Jerry Ross.

But Hatten proceeded to bruise the backboard with the ball. His sure lay up missed the rim entirely, and the ball went careening off into the hands of Ross. Seconds later, Chapman forward Andy Marusich was fouled and sent to the line for the two free throws that clinched the win for the Panthers.

“We worked the play we wanted,” Wheeler said. “We got it to the guy we wanted to shoot it. If he scores, we tie it--and maybe he also gets fouled for a three-pointer.

“But, we did not capitalize.”

Chapman Coach Kevin Wilson admitted that Hatten’s miss “was a big play,” but wanted to focus on positives--Mike Kelly’s jump-shooting and sprawling defense, Karl Cato’s inside play and Marusich’s rebounding.

Wilson wanted to savor this one. It was, after all, Wilson’s first home conference victory as Chapman coach--coming nine games into the Panthers’ California Collegiate Athletic Assn. season.

“That was a fun one,” Wilson said. “It took a while to get it. The first one is always hard.”

That was understating the issue. To beat San Luis Obispo, Chapman had to overcome: the absence of its best player (Williams); the absence of one of its best rebounders (injured center Mike Brennan); its own mediocre field-goal shooting (45%, compared to the Mustangs’ 57%); and an eight-point, first-half deficit.

With Williams and Brennan, both 6-6, attending the game in street clothes, Wilson was left with a team as small in size as in numbers. In the final minute of play, when San Luis Obispo had possession, Chapman assistant Dave Nahabedian leaned over to Wilson with a piece of advice.

“Dave said, ‘Put the big guys in for rebounding,’ ” Wilson said. “I looked at him and said, ‘What are you talking about?’ ”

Chapman’s “big guys” on the bench Saturday were 6-2 Ross and 6-2 Roger Weninger.

The Panthers (4-5, 13-9) compensated for their lack of height with quickness, aggressive defense and some timely shooting. Kelly led the team in three departments.

His 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting were high for Chapman and his two free throws with 1:07 to play gave the Panthers what proved to be the winning points.

Kelly also spent much of the night chasing down Mustang ballhandlers and diving to the floor on occasion, trying to pick off San Luis Obispo passes.

Cato added 15 points and 7 rebounds for the Panthers, with Ross contributing nine points and Marusich seven rebounds.

San Luis Obispo (2-7, 13-9) received a team-high 18 points from Hatten. But, with two more from Hatten, the Mustangs might not have received loss No. 9.

CAL POLY SLO (57)--Wells 14, Rivera 8, Blevins 2, Bellamy 3, Hatten 18, Van Winden 12.

CHAPMAN (61)--Ross 9, Kelly 16, Jones 7, Briggs 8, Marusich 6, Cato 15.

Halftime--SLO 33-31.

Attendance--400.