Chapman Knocks Off CSUN to Stay in Race

Chapman Coach Kevin Wilson is fond of saying dunks don’t mean anything more than two points.

That hasn’t changed. But in the case of the Panthers, it meant quite a bit more against Cal State Northridge as far as setting the tone Friday night.

Chapman controlled the opening tipoff and Chris Perine dunked courtesy of David Roth’s pass. The Panthers used that early momentum to hold off Northridge time and again in the second half in a 79-72 victory before an announced crowd of 1,350 at Chapman.

It was a crucial game in regard to both teams’ chances for a spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament in March. Heading into Friday night’s game, Northridge was in a third-place tie with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The Panthers were a game behind in fifth.

Only four teams qualify for the conference tournament and Chapman pulled itself back into the race. The Panthers are tied with Northridge at 6-5 for the final spot.

“We ran the offense and shot the ball better this time,” said Wilson, whose team lost to the Matadors, 66-58, at Northridge in the first meeting. “It was more intense this time. The guys were more ready, I don’t know why.”

The tight conference race for fourth place obviously had something to do with it. And the return of forward Kelly Huston was another reason. Huston suffered a dislocated right kneecap the day before last week’s game against Cal State Dominguez Hills. Chapman lost that game and the next two road games last weekend.

These were Huston’s numbers on Friday: A game-high 21 points on 6 of 7 shooting in 29 minutes.

Huston had ample support from his teammates. Roth scored 16 points, Karl Tompkins had 13 points and nine rebounds and Jon Samuelson added 11. Northridge, which had won three in a row, was led by Ray Horwath’s 20 points and Todd Bowser and Jimmy Daniels each had 17. The Matadors’ cause was hurt by Paul Drecksel’s performance. He had scored 14 against Chapman in the first meeting and virtually disappeared this time, finishing with just five.

Chapman led, 38-35, at the half lead as it outshot Northridge, 55% to 45%. The Panthers (13-12) finished with 56% to the Matadors’ 41%. Northridge (10-14) stayed close as Daniels hit four three-pointers in the first half.

After the opening dunk, the Panthers kept on going, taking a 9-3 lead in the opening 2:31. Northridge rallied to eventually take a 21-17 lead with 12:12 remaining in the half. But Chapman regained the lead for good, 23-21, with 10:36 left.