THE COLLEGES : Former Antelope Valley Free-Throw Whiz Takes Verbal Shot at Officials

John Chambers, coach of the San Jacinto College basketball team, protested what he claimed was poor officiating by pulling his team off the court in the final seconds of a game at Antelope Valley last week.

“The referees let everything go,” Chambers said. “(Antelope Valley) committed some flagrant fouls. They’d better wear shoulder pads when they come to Mt. San Jacinto.”

Sounded like a threat. And from an Antelope Valley alumnus no less.

Chambers played basketball for Antelope Valley in 1962-63 and is a member of the school’s Hall of Fame. Ironically, Chambers used to benefit from officiating that went Antelope Valley’s way. He still holds the school record for consecutive free throws in a game (21).

But Chambers’ team does not toe the line with the same effectiveness.

Leading by seven points with 1 minute, 5 seconds left in regulation, Mt. San Jacinto made only one of six free throws, allowing Antelope Valley to tie the score, 95-95. The host Marauders went on to win in overtime, 115-107.

Eight players fouled out in the game--four from each side.

Hot handed: The victory over Mt. San Jacinto was a painful one for Antelope Valley’s Paul Ernst. The 6-foot-2 guard had been doubtful for the game after injuring his right (shooting) hand Jan. 10 against College of the Desert.

At first it was thought that Ernst had broken his navicular bone. The injury later was diagnosed as a severe bruise.

According to Coach Newton Chelette, Ernst made the decision to play despite his injury. The Marauders needed him too.

Ernst scored 20 points, including a 20-foot jump shot with less than a minute to play in regulation to spark the Antelope Valley comeback.

Making the cut: At 6-foot-5 with a shock of red hair, assistant coach Rusty Smith is difficult to miss on the sidelines at Cal State Northridge basketball games.

He will stand out even more Friday when the Matadors play host to Cal State Dominguez Hills.

By then, Smith expects to be sporting a flat-top, courtesy of CSUN players who won a wager with the coach by defeating Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 90-78, on the road last week.

Figuring that a little extra motivation could only improve the Matadors’ chances in their California Collegiate Athletic Assn. opener, Smith cut a deal with the players, allowing them to alter his hairstyle if they styled on the Mustangs.

“(Rusty’s) definitely going to look different,” Northridge freshman Bill Mazurie said with a chuckle Friday. “He lost the bet and now it’s time to pay up.”

Smith is 0 for 2 in wagers with Northridge players. Last year, the Matadors beat the Mustangs at San Luis Obispo, 72-63, after being hammered by Cal State Bakersfield, 86-59, the night before.

Shaping up: After 13 games of inconsistency, the Northridge basketball team strung together two fine efforts at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal State Bakersfield to open CCAA play.

Northridge, 0-6 on the road before conference play, defeated highly regarded Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield before vocal crowds of 1,977 and 2,002 to start conference play and improve to 7-8 overall.

“I think our (nonconference) schedule may have helped us,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said after the Matadors had come from behind to beat Bakersfield, 61-58. “We played four Division I teams on the road and I think, because of that, the guys felt more comfortable when they came into these two buildings.”

Reserve forward Sandy Brown, who scored seven points against Bakersfield, concurred with Cassidy. “We lost all four games, but we played the Division I teams pretty tough,” Brown said. “We knew conference was a new season, and we came in ready to play.”

The increased intensity was evident in the statistics.

After shooting 42.2% from the field and 61.4% from the free-throw line in the first 13 games, Northridge improved to 54.1% and 72.5% in those categories against the Mustangs and Roadrunners.

The Matadors also improved in the turnover department, committing 12 against San Luis Obispo and nine against Bakersfield after averaging 16 in nonconference play.

Injury update: Northridge guard Eugene Humphrey is doubtful for this week’s games but probably will play next week against Cal Poly Pomona and UC Riverside, Cassidy said Tuesday.

Humphrey started the Matadors’ first nine games, but he has been sidelined since because of a severely bruised right thigh. He suffered the injury Dec. 30 in the first half of a 71-65 loss at Cal State Sacramento.

“(Eugene) is starting to jog again,” Cassidy said. “But we don’t anticipate him playing in this week’s games. We don’t want to bring him back too quickly and risk further injury.”

Pinned to the mat: Last April, shortly after accepting a job as assistant line coach for the Cal State Northridge football team, Scott Norton said: “Wrestling is over. It was what I did when I was skinny and could see my feet.”

But try as he might, Norton has found it tough to walk away. He has not trained in more than a year, but just as soon as his family’s trucking business can be sold, Norton plans to resume training for the 1992 Olympic Trials.

It has been a decade since Norton was at his wrestling peak. In 1980, a short time after he won the heavyweight freestyle division in the U. S. Olympic Trials, then-President Jimmy Carter ordered a boycott of the Moscow Games.

Norton narrowly missed making the U. S. team in the past two Olympic Trials. His last competition was in the 1988 trials in Boca Raton, Fla., where he finished third in the Greco-Roman class.

Kirby Lee and staff writers Mike Hiserman and John Ortega contributed to this notebook.