COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Chapman’s Rally Falls Short in 53-51 Loss

Rog Middleton had a chance to tie the score for Chapman College in the final seconds Friday night.

But by the time Middleton controlled a slightly errant pass, he was forced to take a 18-foot jump shot under pressure from three Cal State Los Angeles defenders. Middleton, who had been denied the ball most of the game, missed the shot and Chapman lost a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. game, 53-51, at the Hutton Sports Center.

It was the fourth consecutive victory for Los Angeles (12-10, 5-4). Chapman (10-12, 2-7) has lost four in a row and six of its past seven games.

Cal State L.A. took a two-point lead with 1 minutes 7 seconds to play and two seconds left on the 45-second clock when Mike Varos made a short jump shot.

Varos’ shot saved the Golden Eagles from a second-half fade that allowed Chapman to rally after trailing, 29-20, at the half.

A tightly packed zone defense kept the ball away from the Panthers’ inside players, especially Middleton, who scored only five of his team-high 16 points in the first half. Chapman shot only 34.6% from the field in the first half.

Trailing by 16 with 15:34 seconds remaining, Chapman began a fairly lethargic rally that cut the Golden Eagles’ lead to 11 with eight minutes left.

In the next six minutes, the Panthers went on a 14-3 run, which ended with a jump shot by Chris Martin to tie the score, 51-51. Martin scored 12 points, all in the second half.

LaVarr Ball had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Cal State L.A.

In California Collegiate Athletic Assn. women’s basketball:

Chapman 80, Cal State Los Angeles 77--Jennifer Uecke had 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots for host Chapman (17-6, 6-3). Julie King had 12 points and Bethel Trice and Melissa Abraham each had 11 for Chapman.

In nonconference men’s basketball:

Southern California College 94, Bethany Bible 81--Jeff Bickmore scored 19 to lead host SCC (18-70 to its ninth consecutive victory.

In nonconference baseball:

Cal State Fullerton 6, Arizona 1--James Popoff (1-1) allowed five hits over seven innings for Cal State Fullerton (3-3) at Tucson.

Paul Bunch hit a two-run home run, and Rich Gonzales, Tom Manley and Matt Hattabuagh had two hits each for Fullerton. Steve Gill, a junior transfer from Cypress College, had two hits for Arizona (4-6).

Cal Poly Pomona 4, UC Irvine 3--Jim Maguire singled in the winning run in the ninth for host Cal Poly Pomona (3-5). Fred Combs had two hits for Irvine (2-4).

In nonconference men’s swimming:

UC Irvine 89, UC Riverside 9--Ken Cooper won the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes 3.71 seconds and he won the 100 breaststroke (1:04.7) to lead host UC Irvine (7-5).

In nonconference women’s swimming:

UC Irvine 89, UC Riverside 9--Shannon Endsley won the 100 backstroke (1:06.3) and the 100 breaststroke (1:16.73) and Grace Moon won the 200 freestyle (2:02.5) and the 100 butterfly (1:04.45) for Irvine (4-8).