Northridge Wins Battle of the Basement, Beating Chapman

If nothing else, Saturday night’s game between Cal State Northridge and Chapman College promised to determine the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s worst team.

The loser would be the winner.

The Panthers were 1-6 going in. The Matadors, 2-6. Neither team had been exactly barnstorming through the CCAA.

In fact, Chapman’s only league win came at home against Northridge on Jan. 18.

Saturday night, Northridge avenged the loss, beating Chapman, 69-45. The Panthers fell to 6-15 overall. The defeat left Chapman alone in last place and, more or less, shut the door on their already dim hopes of making the league’s postseason tournament.

Chapman Coach Kevin Wilson was hardly in the mood to talk in any civilized manner to the press afterward.

“The refereeing was atrocious,” Wilson shouted. “They’re a helluva team. That’s all I’m gonna say.”

Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy, on the other hand, was all smiles. Cassidy, who has complained regularly about the officiating after losses this season, thought the refs did a fine job.

“I don’t know what his (Wilson’s) gripe is,” he said. “The calls were fairly even.”

Unfortunately for the Panthers, the game wasn’t.

Chapman was scheduled to play Cal State Los Angeles on Friday night, but a mechanical problem with one of the baskets forced the game to be postponed.

Before Saturday’s game, Cassidy said he was concerned that the Panthers were well rested. “I’m worried because their legs are fresh. We had a tough game last night. Against Dominguez Hills, Pat Bolden played 40 minutes. That worries me.”

But it was Chapman that looked tired.

Bolden scored 21 points for Northridge on 8-for-10 shooting. “I felt the rhythm tonight,” the 6-4 forward said. “I was thinking about shooting more. I knew my shots were going in.”

Appropriately enough, both teams made plenty of mistakes. There were a lot of turnovers, airballs, blown defensive assignments and a few missed layups.

Midway through the first half, Northridge reserve Dan Mulder went up for a slam, but he jammed the ball hard off the back of the rim. So it went.

But then the Matadors’ Bolden scored nine points in a five-minute stretch and Northridge went ahead, 19-11.

The Panthers trailed, 31-21, at the half.

With Chapman missing shots, CSUN extended its lead early in the second half. The Matadors had a 10-1 run and never looked back.

In other games:

Christ College Irvine 89, Arizona College of the Bible 78--Brian Beal, Tim Surridge and Derwin Appleberry combined for 55 points to lead the Crusaders to the Western Christian Athletic Assn. basketball win at Phoenix.

The trio’s scoring offset a 31-point performance by Gary Sharpe. Beal had 19 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the Crusaders (7-1, 19-5).

Surridge was on target for the second night in a row, making all 8 of his field goal attempts on his way to 18 points. He was 8 of 9 from the field Friday in Christ College’s win over Southwestern Baptist Bible College. Appleberry was 8 of 16 from the field and had 18 points. Arizona College of the Bible is 0-9 in conference play and 9-12 overall.

CHRIST COLLEGE IRVINE (89)--Kelso 2, Tiede 2, Appleberry 18, Beal 19, Surridge 18, Wear 9, Klatt 4, Pallotta 9, Thompson 2, Washington 4, Bean 2.

ARIZONA COLLEGE OF THE BIBLE (78)--Ohman 2, Huff 18, Moore 5, Sharpe 31, Baker 2, Falcon 8, Cresilius 12.

Halftime--Christ College Irvine, 43-31

Southern California College 78, Pomona-Pitzer 66--Senior guard Randy McAllister scored 20 points and handed out 7 assists for the Vanguards in the nonconference game. Point guard Robert Aviles added 9 assists and center Paul Hohman had 13 points. SCC is 15-9; Pitzer is 14-8.

POMONA-PITZER (66)--Caragher 6, Kallgren 13, Bradley 11, Lewis 15, DiCesaris 16, Deque 2, Dignan 3.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COLLEGE (78)--Lucas 8, McAllister 20, Aviles 6, Ofelt 12, Myles 9, Silvers 10, Hohmann 13.

Halftime--Southern California College, 42-37

In women’s action:

Chapman 74, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 62--Leone Patterson paced the Panthers (4-4, 14-8) with 32 points. Valerie Hartsfield added 21 points and Tami Brewster had 11 rebounds for Chapman. San Luis Obispo is 4-3 and 13-8.