Orange County College Basketball : Tumbling Chapman Plays Host to Northridge

Just 11 days ago--which probably seems like a long time to Chapman College basketball fans--the Panthers were in second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.

However, with the absence of forward Kelly Huston (dislocated kneecap), Chapman promptly lost its next three games. The losses to Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal State Bakersfield dropped the Panthers into fifth place, one place out of the final spot for the conference tournament.

Chapman will have an opportunity to remain in contention as it plays fourth-place Cal State Northridge tonight in the Hutton Sports Center at Orange. Huston is expected to play against the Matadors and Cal State Los Angeles Saturday.

Northridge won the last meeting, 66-58, at Northridge on Jan. 23.

The Matadors are led by 6-4 senior guard Paul Drecksel, who scored 14 points against Chapman in the first meeting and is averaging 13.2 points.

Jon Samuelson, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds at Bakersfield Saturday, leads the Panthers with a 15.7 average. Huston is averaging 13.7 points, followed by Karl Tompkins (13.5) and Dave Roth (10.0). Roth has averaged 16.9 in his last seven games.