BASKETBALL : Master’s Coeler Connecting as a Long-Distance Operator

How good would Pete Coeler be if a half-court shot was worth four points?

Coeler, a senior guard at Master’s College, has made 55 of 99 three-point attempts. That’s 55.6%. Inside the 19-9 stripe, he’s 69 of 198. That’s 34.8%.

You’ve heard of coaches who prohibit long-range shots? Coeler might become the first player not allowed to attempt anything but three pointers.

Dave Jacques of Cal Lutheran has been named the player of the week in the Golden State Athletic Conference. The 6-4 forward scored 59 points in two games last week, including 33 against Master’s College. He also had 21 rebounds. Jacques has scored in double figures in all 19 games this season.

Add three-pointers: Paul Drecksel of Northridge is as consistent as Coeler is erratic.

Drecksel has made 30 of 58 three-point attempts (51.7%) and 81 of 157 (51.6%) overall.

Cool-hand Bowz: Size and willingness to work are the two qualities Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy likes about Todd Bowser, his 6-7, 270-pound freshman center.

Add a nice shooting touch and coolness under pressure to the list.

Bowser’s 55.6 shooting percentage is best on the team. He also has made 26 of 31 free throws. That’s a team-leading 83.9%.

Bowser was 5 of 5 from the free throw line with a capacity crowd screaming at him last Friday night at UC Riverside.

Hit-and-miss strategy: Azusa Pacific Coach Cliff Hamlow picked up his 554th win Tuesday night when the Cougars beat Cal Lutheran, 80-78. After trailing throughout the game, Hamlow used a “foul-and-hope-they-miss” strategy in the final minutes and it worked. Cal Lutheran missed the front end of three consecutive one-and-one situations.

Azusa, meanwhile, made its free throws, including two by Bill DesRochers with two seconds left in the game. Hamlow, who has been at Azusa for 31 years, has collected more wins than any active NAIA coach. CLU hasn’t beaten the Cougars since 1972.

Poll-axed: The Glendale College men’s basketball team, ranked No. 7 in the Southland poll of sports information directors, lost its first Western State Conference game, 90-84, on Thursday to unranked Santa Monica.

Cerritos, which was ranked No. 1, lost, 89-79, to No. 8 Compton on Saturday.

No. 3 Rancho Santiago easily beat No. 4 Orange Coast, 80-67.

No. 5 Ventura lost, 60-58, to unranked Oxnard.

No. 6 El Camino beat No. 9 Fullerton, 66-62.

Some poll, eh?

Add polls: The Valley College women’s basketball team (15-3, 3-0), which is alone in first place in the Southern California Conference, is ranked No. 4 in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau. The Moorpark women’s team (11-9, 3-1 in the Western State Conference) is ranked No. 18.

Chairman of the boards: Anthony Hines, an All-Western State Conference forward at College of the Canyons, is the state’s leading rebounder with a 13.5 average. Teammate Mitch McMullen is No. 10 in the state with a 9.33 average. Canyons’ offense is No. 5 in the state.

Tournament time: The 1987 California Community College Men’s Basketball Tournament will include 52 teams, 26 each from the northern and southern divisions. Regional playoff games begin Feb. 28. The final eight teams will meet March 12 at Loyola Marymount University. This season, the top three teams in each conference will receive an automatic invitation to the state tournament.

Hot hand: Sophomore forward Anthony Cook, a former All-City center at Van Nuys High, scored the winning basket in Arizona’s 73-72 win over Washington on Saturday.

The 6-9 Cook, who scored the Widcats’ last seven points, hit a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer.

Rebounding tear: Shelmarie Tatum of Master’s College pulled down 26 rebounds against Claremont-Mudd. She has had 20 or more rebounds in two of the past four games.

For starters: Pepperdine’s Jim Harrick Jr., a junior who played at Newbury Park High, has moved into the starting lineup for the Waves, who play host to Loyola Marymount in a West Coast Athletic Conference game Saturday.

Harrick leads the team in assists with an average of 3.7 per game.

Pepperdine is 5-11. Three more losses would make this the worst season for Coach Jim Harrick during his seven-year stay in Malibu.

Words from the Coach: John Wooden, who won 10 NCAA championships at UCLA, will speak at the 1st Cal Lutheran basketball scholarship awards banquet Jan. 30 in the CLU gym.

Cost is $25 per adult and $12 per child 11 and under.

Information: (805) 493-3156.