Chapman Spreads Wealth; Prospero Gets First Win

Mike Minier led a balanced scoring attack with 16 points as Chapman College gave basketball Coach Rich Prospero his first victory by defeating Cal State Stanislaus, 81-77, in the consolation game of the Doubletree tournament Saturday at Chapman.

Minier, who made 7 of 9 field goal attempts, was among four Panthers who scored in double figures. Guards Bryan Richetto, who handed out 6 assists, and Dean Balcao, who had 9 rebounds, each scored 15 points for Chapman.

Matt Honikel added 12 points by converting 5 of 6 field-goal attempts.

“Needless to say, it feels so good to get this win,” said Prospero, who became interim coach Friday after the firing of Kevin Wilson earlier in the week.

“The team has been worried about so many different things all week, and it has been very difficult for us to get things going after what has happened. But today, we were able to put the pressures of this week behind us and came out and played hard.”

Chapman (2-1), which made 18 of 26 field goal attempts in the first half, opened a 19-6 lead during the game’s first 6 minutes. Two 3-pointers by Dean Balcao and another by Minier highlighted the run.

Cal State Stanislaus (2-2) connected on just 37% of its field goal tries in the first half (13 for 35). The Warriors narrowed the Panther lead to 19-12 with 13 minutes left, but could get no closer as Chapman built a 42-33 halftime edge.