Dominguez Hills Beats Chapman : Without Samuelson, Panthers Can’t Make the Grade

Good news on the basketball court is getting harder and harder to come by at Chapman College these days, so Coach Kevin Wilson had to go to the classroom to find a silver lining following Thursday night’s 48-45 loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills.

“Grades came out today,” said Wilson, his voice perking up. “The team grade-point average was 2.75. The starting lineup was at 2.85. These guys are into it; they all came into my office, anxious to see what their grades were.

“At places I’ve been previously, the kids wanted to hide them from you.”

So, let it be noted that the 1985-86 Chapman Panthers are a smart basketball team.

And, at this point in the season, one game into their California Collegiate Athletic Assn. schedule, they are also smarting.

Thursday’s loss was Chapman’s sixth in seven games, dropping the Panthers’ overall record to 4-9. It also came at home, against a 6-8 Dominguez Hills team that starts two freshmen.

This is not the way Wilson wanted to open the CCAA season.

But worst of all, Chapman’s best player, Jon Samuelson, had to watch it all from the bench in street clothes. Samuelson, who leads the Panthers in everything from scoring to rebounds to assists to field goal percentage, has a leg injury of undetermined severity, keeping him out of practice all week.

“He can hardly walk off the court,” Wilson said. “He can’t walk upstairs. We don’t know what it is--a severe strain, or maybe a muscle tear.”

Samuelson has been undergoing ultrasound and ice treatment twice a day and will be examined Tuesday by team doctor Ben Rubin. There, Wilson will get the official word--be it bearable (a strain) or terrible (a tear).

“Either way, I would think he’s real questionable for next weekend,” Wilson said. “We’ll wait until he’s completely healthy. I’ve seen players try to play with a strained muscle and they go through a whole season at less than full effectiveness.”

Wilson tried to downplay the effect Samuelson’s absence had on his team Thursday--”He’s a good player, but I’m not making any excuses”--but it became obvious in the second half, particularly in the final minutes.

When Chapman needed a critical basket, it had no where to turn.

Not guard Mike Kelly, whose mysterious shooting slump continues. Kelly was 1 for 5 for the night, finishing with two points.

Not forward Andy Marusich, who went 2 for 7 from the field.

Not even forward Paul Rollins, who replaced Samuelson admirably with 18 points but missed a crucial free throw with 41 seconds remaining and the Panthers trailing by three.

That was the front end of a one-and-one situation. Had Rollins made both, a last-second victory might have been plausible.

Instead, Dominguez Hills built its lead to five before giving the Panthers’ Jimmy Saia an concession basket just before the final buzzer.

Dave Yanai, the Dominguez Hills coach, realized the significance of a Chapman lineup sans Samuelson.

“Chapman really misses him,” he said. “He’s a great offensive threat, a strong rebounder and an awfully good passer. He adds a lot of punch to their offense inside and their shooting on the perimeter.

“That definitely contributed to our success tonight.”

It definitely affected Chapman’s game plan, as Wilson had to admit.

“We had to use other guys inside and not go to them as much because they’re new,” Wilson said.

“But, I’m not going to say we’re a one-man team--’If we lose Jon, we lose the game.’ Usually in this type of situation, someone else will rise out of the ashes.”

More critical in the overall scheme, at least in Wilson’s mind, was Chapman’s poor showing at the free throw line. The Panthers rank among the nation’s leaders in team free throw shooting at 75.8%, but picked the wrong time to break down in that department.

Against the Toros, Chapman made just 15 of 24 attempts from the foul line--62.5%.

“That’s pretty important in a three-point game,” Wilson said.

Basically, it was a night when nothing went right for the Panthers. Still, Wilson, ever the optimist, tried to grope for a bright note.

“If you would’ve told me that Mike Kelly would go 1 for 5 and John Bragg would go 0 for 4 and we’d get outrebounded by three (28-25) and we’d shoot 62% from the foul line and 39.5% from the field, I’d have said we would’ve lost by 20,” Wilson said. “We lost by three and could’ve won--playing like that.

“The potential is there. We’ve just got to get ‘em to wake up and realize it’s there.”