THE COLLEGES : Chapman Basketball Tournament : With Coach No. 3, Chapman Suffers Loss No. 1

Chapman College men’s basketball team found the transition from coach to coach to coach difficult over the past 3 days.

But the Panthers discovered the transition from controversy to basketball impossible--at least for a half Friday night.

And that was enough to beat them.

Southern California College all but ran the Panthers out of Hutton Sports Center in the first half, then held off two Chapman rallies for an 85-78 victory in the first round of the Doubletree tournament.

“I thought we played stiff in the first half,” said Rich Prospero, who was named Chapman’s interim coach Friday morning. “I thought we pressed as individuals. It wasn’t a loss of concentration, it was just that everyone was trying too hard.”

No one could blame the Panthers for that. In the last 3 days, they have had 3 different coaches--from Kevin Wilson, who was fired Wednesday, to Lindsay Strothers, who was the college’s first interim coach, to Prospero.

Still, the Panthers (1-1) made two runs at the Vanguards in the second half. Trailing, 38-23, at halftime, they closed to within 3 points on Dean Balcao’s third 3-point field goal of the period with 12:43 left in the game.

Mike Minier led the rally as he made 4 shots, including a 3-pointer, during the 23-11 run.

SCC held off the Panthers with a pair of jump shots by Kyle Lundy, who had 19 points, and a layup by Jeff Bickmore, who finished with 20 points.

Chapman, however, came back again, pulling to within 4 points with a minute left. But Todd Dixon, who finished with 21 points, and Jim Mansfield combined to make 3 of 4 free throws to clinch the victory.

“I think our kids would like to play this one over,” Prospero said. “But, I think they learned something tonight.”

SCC (2-0) took control of the game with a 14-3 run that closed out the first half. Bickmore, a 6-foot 7-inch sophomore, scored 8 points during the streak, mostly on short turnaround shots along the baseline.

However, it was the Vanguards’ pressure defense that created the opportunities for the offense. Dixon, Lundy and Phil Hill harassed the Chapman guards, which effectively disrupted the Panthers’ offense.

It also created scoring opportunities as the Panthers committed 15 turnovers during the half, most of which were turned into points. Some of the Panthers’ sloppy play came from an unlikely source as point guard Bryan Richetto was 0 for 5 in the first half. He also committed 4 turnovers.

But, Richetto was not alone. Chapman finished with 24 turnovers, compared to 9 for the Vanguards.

A layup and free throw by Matt Honikel pulled Chapman to within 4 points (24-20) with 7:18 left in the half. Those were the last points the Panthers would score until Kevin Stafford, who had 19 points, converted a 3-point field with 2:57 remaining.

The Panthers went scoreless the rest of the half.

In the first game Friday, Biola defeated Cal State Stanislaus, 60-59. Biola plays Southern California for the championship at 8 p.m. tonight. Chapman plays Stanislaus at 5:45.