SPORTSCOPE : Cal Poly to Take San Diego State Team to Court

The Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team will take a step up in competition when it plays San Diego State, an NCAA Division I team, in a nonconference game at 8 p.m. Saturday at Peterson Gym in San Diego.

Pomona, off to its best start since 1986, will take a 3-1 record into the game. San Diego State, which defeated the Broncos, 76-65, in their last meeting in 1987, started the week at 0-2.

The Broncos may benefit from the return of All-California Collegiate Athletic Assn. forward Terry Ross, who has yet to play after suffering a broken hand before the season. Ross, who averaged 21.1 points and 11.5 rebounds last season, was listed among the top 25 small college players in the nation by The Sporting News.

In his absence, the Broncos have been led by 6-foot-1 guard D. J. Norman, 6-7 forward Eric Mobley and 6-3 forward Ken Scalmanini. Norman is averaging 12 points, Mobley 11.8 points and 8.8 rebounds and Scalmanini 11.3 points.

Pomona also received excellent play from 6-9 center Marcellus Lee in its only game last week, a 78-56 victory over Pomona-Pitzer. Lee, a senior who played at Loyola Marymount last season, scored 15 points.

The Broncos will meet a San Diego State squad that is led by 6-2 senior guard Arthur Massey, who averages 20.5 points, and 7-1 senior center Marty Dow, who averages 7.5 rebounds.

After splitting two games in Northern California last week, the Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team returns home for a pair of difficult nonconference games Friday and Saturday.

The Broncos, who are 3-2 after losing to Sonoma State and defeating San Francisco State, play host to National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics power Wayland Baptist of Texas at 7:30 p.m. Friday and NCAA Division I team St. Mary’s at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Pomona, ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Division II in a preseason poll, has been led by 5-10 senior forward Stephanie Coons. Coons, a former Wilson High of Hacienda Heights standout, is averaging 15 points and 8.2 rebounds. In a 105-70 victory over San Francisco State, she scored a season-high 26 points and had 12 rebounds.

Two other top players for the Broncos are 5-11 sophomore forward Tami Chick and 5-6 senior guard Debbie Wagner. Chick is averaging 13 points and Wagner, a transfer from Northern Arizona, is averaging 10 points.

The Azusa Pacific men’s basketball team, having finished third in the eight-team Cougar Classic tournament last week, will take to the road for nonconference games tonight and Saturday.

The Cougars, who are 4-3 after going 2-1 in the tournament, will meet La Verne at 7:30 tonight and Christian Heritage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. La Verne finished in a three-way tie for first in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference last season and Christian Heritage reached the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 final.

Azusa has been led by 6-8 junior center Patrick McMann, who was selected to the all-tournament team at the Cougar Classic for the second consecutive season. The Cougars defeated Colorado Christian, 79-70, in the third-place game.

The Cougars have also been led by 6-8 senior forward Matt Burns and 6-4 junior Keith Hollimon.