MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Chapman Struggles Past Seattle in Tournament Opening Round

First-round games in your own tournament are usually set up for the little guy to take a fall.

The idea is to roll over the patsy and set up a championship game to please to your fans.

But Friday night in the first round of Chapman’s Doubletree Classic men’s basketball tournament, the Panthers were outplayed by Seattle, supposedly the weakest of three National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics schools in the tournament, and struggled to an 80-73 victory at the Hutton Center.

Chapman will play Grand Canyon, a 69-63 winner over Southern California College Friday, for the championship tonight at 7.

“It was a struggle, wasn’t it?” Chapman Coach Bob Boyd asked.

Boyd tried to assess why his team played poorly and had to fight off a rally that saw the Chieftains cut the Panthers’ lead to 73-70 with 1 minute 49 seconds remaining.

“Seattle looked well-prepared for us,” he said. “Our nonchalant play in the first half is a mystery to me. But good teams win when they play poorly and I hope that applies to us.”

Seattle showed early on that it wouldn’t be taking the road to patsyhood.

After some sloppy play by both teams early in the first half, Chapman led, 14-10, with 13 minutes 34 seconds remaining. The Chieftains (1-3) then went on an 18-4 run, which gave them a 28-18 lead after Joe Weatherford scored on a rebound of Aaron Waite’s failed three-point attempt.

Seattle then extended its lead to 36-21 before the Panthers came back.

A powerful dunk by Rog Middleton, who missed two days of practice this week because of recurring tendinitis in his left knee, sparked a 13-0 run that brought Chapman to within two points with 1:20 remaining. Seattle led, 38-34, at the half.

In the other Chapman Doubletree tournament game:

Grand Canyon 69, Southern California College 63--Despite a game-high 26 points from senior center Jeff Bickmore, the Vanguards (1-1) lost. SCC led, 46-41, with 10:58 left to play, but Grand Canyon rallied. Maurice Carter, who scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half, scored eight consecutive points in a 10-0 run to give Grand Canyon a 51-46 lead 7:30 left.