San Diego Colleges / Rick Hazeltine : Point Loma to Meet Biola Tonight

Point Loma Nazarene College will play Biola (28-1) in the NAIA District 3 basketball final tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Chapman College.

The winner advances to the NAIA National Championship Tournament at Kansas City starting March 11. Champions from 32 districts will compete in the tournament.

Coach Ben Foster is in his 13th season at Point Loma, and the Crusaders (22-9) have qualified for the District 3 playoffs 12 times. They have advanced to the championship game five times but have won the district title only once (1983).

Biola, ranked No. 3 in the nation, played Point Loma earlier this season in the Point Loma Invitational Tournament. Biola won, 69-67.

Point Loma is led by Steve Bruce, Golden West Conference Player of the Year, who averages 18 points per game.

If Point Loma loses tonight, its season won’t be over. The Crusaders would then compete for the right to play in the National Christian College Athletic Assn. National Tournament at Chattanooga, Tenn. Point Loma is the two-time defending NCCAA champion.

The Grossmont Community College men’s basketball team will attempt to advance to the state tournament for the second time in three seasons when it plays Santa Barbara City College in the Southern California Regional tournament Wednesday at Santa Barbara.

The winner advances to the eight-team state tournament March 12-14 at Loyola Marymount University.

The Griffins (22-8), ranked 19th in the state and seeded 10th in the tournament, finished second to Imperial Valley College in the Pacific Coast Conference this season after winning the championship the two previous seasons.

Grossmont defeated College of the Desert, 107-85, in the first round of the regional tournament Saturday at Grossmont.

Santa Barbara (21-8), 10th-ranked and 7th-seeded, finished second in the North Division of the Western State Conference.

The UC San Diego athletic department estimates it would cost $500,000 to start and maintain an NCAA Division III football program, according to Judy Sweet, UCSD athletic director.

Sweet said the budget estimate, which includes staff and equipment but not facility costs, has been turned over to the Associated Students. The governing body will review the budget and determine if a referendum will be added to the spring ballot. The program would be funded by additional student fees if a referendum passes.

If it should pass, the issue of an adequate field will have to be addressed. The current field, which is used by the Chargers during training camp, is inadequate, according to Sweet. There are no restrooms, not enough seating and no fencing, which would make it difficult to charge admission.

The physical education department currently is working on a proposal with the Chargers to upgrade the facility. Another option would be to rent a local, off-campus field, such as La Jolla High School’s.

After a few delays, the installation of a $120,000 computerized baseball scoreboard at SDSU should be completed this weekend.

The scoreboard will have graphic capabilities. The majority of the cost will be paid for by the Coca-Cola Bottling Co., which has agreed to pay $10,000 per year for the next 10 years for the scoreboard’s prime advertising space. Four smaller advertising panels at the bottom of the scoreboard also will be rented to help defray costs.

Amy Hillenbrand, of conference-champion MiraCosta College, was named the Pacific Coast Conference women’s basketball Player of the Year in a vote of conference coaches.

Others voted to the 11-member team were: Karen Chariker, Julia Cole and Kathy Trujillo (MiraCosta); Zena Phillips, Evette Person and Christine Hurd (Palomar); Becky Aikin and Jeri Stunz (Grossmont), and Pam Smith and Carolyn Willis (San Diego Mesa).

The San Diego State women’s basketball team will play Hawaii in a first-round game of the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. tournament Thursday at 3 p.m. at Cal State Long Beach. The Aztecs and Hawaii have split two games played in Peterson Gym this season.