Chapman Defeats San Francisco

For some Chapman College fans it may have come a week late, but Kevin Wilson managed to secure a victory against a basketball team he had previously coached.

The moral victory, a two-point loss to the University of Minnesota, came last Saturday. Wilson had spent 1971-75 as an assistant in the Gopher program.

But that game may have been the key to the Panthers’ last two efforts. After the moral victory came two real victories, the latest being a 74-69 win over San Francisco State University Saturday in Hutton Sports Center in Orange before 350 spectators.

“Maybe the Minnesota game was a shot in the arm,” said Wilson, who spent time at San Francisco State as an assistant and head coach.

Some might call it a shot in the arm for a program that had spent the last two seasons on the disabled list.

The victory gives Chapman a 6-5 record. Here’s another small step, but still an accomplishment--already, just 11 games into the season, the Panthers have more wins at home than they did all last year. Last year’s team was 5-8 at home.

Was last year’s team that bad? Or is the Panther team of 1986-87 that much better? Probably a little of both.

“They’re a much better team,” San Francisco State Coach Tim Franklin said. “Our effort tonight would have been good enough to beat last year’s team.”

The Gators did win last year’s meeting, 76-66. Then again, people like Chris Perine and David Roth weren’t in the Panther program. Both played significant roles against the Gators.

Roth, a freshman from Orange High, made four free throws in the final 16 seconds. He had come back into the game when Kelly Huston fouled out with 1:26 remaining.

With Chapman leading, 70-69, Roth came up with a rebound of Gator Ronnie Stample’s shot and was fouled by Jerry Ross. After the San Francisco timeout, Roth made both ends of the one-and-one. On the Gators’ next possession a questionable over-and-back call gave Chapman the ball.

With 10 seconds remaining and Chapman ahead, 72-69, Roth was fouled again. Again, he made both free throws for the final margin.

“There was no question in my mind he was going in,” Wilson said. “He didn’t even gulp before those free throws. He’s got that kind of moxie. He is not a freshman.”

Roth finished with 8 points. Jon Samuelson was game-high with 21 and Karl Tompkins had 18 points and 14 rebounds. For the Gators, Henry Clark scored 18, Jerry Ross had 15 and Joe Asberry added 12.

While Perine wasn’t the leading scorer for the Panthers (he had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field), his presence gives Chapman the backcourt strength it was missing last season.

“Their new players and the added maturity of the others coming back has really made them a better team than last year,” Franklin said.