COLLEGES / Alan Drooz : Toros Hope to Host Conference and NCAA Tourneys

The world, or at least the Division II basketball portion of it, may be making the unaccustomed trek to Carson in the next few weeks if things break the way they have it scripted around Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Not only have the Toros ridden their school-record eight-game winning streak to a tie for first in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. race and a Top 20 national ranking, but with four games remaining the Dominguez Hills athletic staff is casting hopeful eyes on the conference tournament and, possibly, the NCAA regional.

Thanks to their upset of top-ranked UC Riverside last week, the Toros came into the week tied with the Highlanders for first in the CCAA at 9-1. The top four teams qualify for the CCAA tournament March 2-4 at the site of the season champion, with the tourney winner getting an automatic NCAA berth.

Each team has four conference games left, with the schedule favoring the Toros, who play three at home. Riverside has to go to Bakersfield and San Luis Obispo--the CCAA’s toughest road trip--this weekend. Four other teams are battling for playoff spots, with Bakersfield, 6-4, holding an edge over Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Chapman, all 5-5.

If Dominguez Hills and Riverside end up tied for the title, there are tie-breaking criteria. The first is head-to-head play, which the two have split. The second is record against the other tournament teams. If that doesn’t decide it, a coin flip will.

The CCAA tournament has never been played anywhere but Bakersfield and San Luis Obispo, where they have been well-attended.

Riverside’s gym is too small for the tournament. The Highlanders are making tentative plans to play at Riverside City College, but if there is a scheduling conflict the championship could shift to Cal Poly Pomona, whose team is last in the conference and will not make the playoffs.

“It’s unknown what kind of (attendance) response we’ll get,” Toro Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said. “The interesting thing will be what will happen if we go to Pomona.”

The CCAA is negotiating with Prime Ticket to televise the March 4 finals. If a deal is worked out, the Dominguez Hills and Pomona gyms are capable of handling TV crews. Riverside could be a problem.

The uncertain factors may make Dominguez Hills--which is centrally located in the CCAA geographically, has access to several freeways, can seat more than 4,000 and has wide-open parking--the more attractive site. But the records and tie-breakers will probably decide it.

Guerrero said the NCAA regional will probably be awarded to the team that wins the CCAA tournament. Dominguez Hills has applied to hold the regional, as have several other candidates. Riverside has 20 victories and pulled off one of the season’s major upsets by defeating Division I power Iowa. Dominguez Hills, 17-6 overall, figures to have more than 20 victories when the conference tournament is over and owns wins over several ranked teams. Both could be logical selections for the regional, barring an early upset in the CCAA tournament.

“I assume the second-place CCAA team will get an at-large berth, though it’s a little early to be making assumptions,” Guerrero said. “The monkey wrench would be if Bakersfield or SLO or Northridge wins the tournament and the automatic bid. I doubt (the NCAA) would take three. Then it would be in the hands of the selection committee.”

The Toros won the CCAA tournament two years ago and ended up being sent to Billings, Mont., for the NCAA regionals. This year, the road to the playoffs could be a lot shorter.

Loyola Marymount scoring star Hank Gathers broke his school season scoring record over the weekend, running his point total to 766. Last season as a sophomore he scored 721. Gathers is only 13 points short of 1,500 for his two-year Loyola career. His 1,487 puts him seventh in Lions career scoring, with Ed Bento the next target at 1,504. If Gathers maintains his 33-point average in the Lions next five games--they could play more if they advance in the West Coast Athletic Conference tournament--he would move into fourth place ahead of former teammate Mike Yoest at 1,601 and moving in on Jim Haderlein’s No. 3 spot (1,706).

Jeff Fryer and Enoch Simmons are also moving up the scoring list quickly. Simmons, a senior averaging 19.5 points, goes into tonight’s game against Portland with 1,265 points, putting him in 11th place. His next targets are Greg Hunter at 1,289 and Richard Dixon at 1,298. Fryer, a junior scoring 23.2 per game, has moved into 13th place with 1,110 points. Next up is Dick Schiendler at 1,147.

Though he has moved into a commanding position in the WCAC basketball race, St. Mary’s Coach Lynn Nance last weekend sounded less than thrilled with the conference’s postseason tournament setup. St. Mary’s defeated Pepperdine and Loyola over the weekend to pull into a tie with the Waves at 8-2, a game ahead of Loyola.

If the season finishes in a tie, St. Mary’s would be declared champion by virtue of its two-game sweep of Loyola. That would earn the Gaels the top seed at the postseason tournament at USF, which will decide the WCAC’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s great, isn’t it?” Nance said. “You work for three months to have the best record and you don’t even get a home-court advantage.”

Nance is also one of several WCAC coaches unhappy with the Friday-Saturday conference schedule. “Those second-day games are killers,” he said. The statistics support him. In conference games, visitors are 11-9 on Fridays but 4-12 on Saturdays. Teams that play Loyola on Fridays, especially, complain that they often have little energy to play on Saturday.

College Notes

Dominguez Hills basketball All-America candidate Anthony Blackmon needs 11 points to become the Toros’ No. 2 career scorer. He has 1,325 career points, just behind Eddie Fitzpatrick. Blackmon needs 31 rebounds to replace James Shaw as the school’s all-time leader. . . . Blackmon was named CCAA Player of the Week for the second straight time and third time this season. . . . Tonight’s Loyola-Portland basketball game will be telecast on Z Channel cable at 7:30. . . . Gathers, Fryer and Simmons rank 1-2-4 in the West Coast Athletic Conference in scoring, and their combined 76 points per game ranks third in WCAC team scoring. . . . Dominguez Hills guard Bryan Dell’Amico has made 14 of his last 28 3-point attempts . . . Toros point guard Derrick Clark leads the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. in shooting in conference action. In CCAA games he is 33 for 50, 66%. . . . The Toro baseball team split its opening two-game series with powerful Arizona as Rick Davis--who played shortstop last year--won his first career pitching start, striking out 11. Designated hitter Lenny Hokansen had a home run and six RBIs in the two games at Tucson . . . on Saturday, Davis struck out a school-record 17 in 11 innings against the Masters.