Chapman Facing Key Weekend

With two of the conference’s strongest teams--Cal State Bakersfield and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo--visiting Hutton Center this weekend, the Chapman men’s basketball team is facing the inevitable.

“This is going to make us or break us, in my opinion,” said Rog Middleton, the Panthers’ leading scorer. “We need to get two wins to be in contention for one of the top four spots in the league.”

Only the top four teams qualify for the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. playoffs, something the Panthers have failed to do since 1989, Middleton’s freshman season. The Panthers (6-10, 1-3 in the CCAA), who have finished in last place the past two seasons, are in seventh place, a game ahead of last place Cal State Los Angeles.

Bakersfield (14-3, 3-1), which is tied for first place with UC Riverside and Cal Poly Pomona, will play the Panthers at 7:30 p.m. Friday. San Luis Obispo (14-3, 2-2), tied for third with Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State San Bernardino, plays Chapman at 8:05 p.m. Saturday.

Each opponent presents problems for the Panthers, who have only nine players on their roster.

Bakersfield ranks third in the NCAA Division II in scoring defense (59.4) and has a strong inside game led by Beau Redstone, a 6-foot-5 forward averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Russ Jarvis, a 6-10 center averaging eight points and four rebounds.

San Luis Obispo, which upset Division I Pepperdine, 76-72, this month, is shooting 43% from the three-point line. Shawn Kirkeby, a 6-8 center, leads the conference in scoring with an average of 18.2 points a game.

Middleton, second in the conference in scoring with a 16.5 average, said the Panthers will need to improve their performance to defeat either team.

“I would have to say we are going to have to play our best basketball of the year,” he said.

Three losses in five games spelled doom for the lofty national ranking of the Southern California College men’s basketball team. Although the Vanguards won two of their three games last week, they dropped seven places to No. 19 in this week’s NAIA Division I poll.

The Vanguards defeated Dominican and Christ College Irvine at home but lost, 89-85, at Cal Baptist in a Golden State Athletic Conference game.

However, SCC (15-4, 2-1 in the GSAC) won its second consecutive game Tuesday, defeating Westmont, 80-76, in overtime in Santa Barbara.

Edmond Johnson made a layup with two seconds left in regulation to tie the score, 69-69, and send the game into overtime. The Vanguards made nine of 10 free throws in overtime.

“Every game is going to be that way, I’m afraid,” SCC Coach Bill Reynolds said. “Just to get a win anywhere, anytime makes a body feel good.”

Westmont (11-8, 2-1) is the defending NAIA District 3 champion and was the coaches’ pick to win the conference championship.

SCC, which was picked to finish third in the conference, will play host to The Master’s (14-7) in a nonconference District 3 game Saturday in Costa Mesa.

The Christ College Irvine women’s team has a showdown against Fresno Pacific, ranked 19th in the NAIA Division I, at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Fresno. The Eagles (15-2, 4-0) have won nine consecutive games since losing to visiting Northern Montana, top-ranked No. 1 in NAIA Division II, Dec. 13.

Fresno Pacific is 16-2, 4-0.

Gitte Mejer, the Eagles’ sophomore center, is leading the NAIA District 3 in scoring, averaging 18 points a game. She is second in rebounding (9.4) and field-goal percentage (60.2%). Teammate Kaisa Kepsu, a freshman center, leads the district in field-goal percentage at 61.2%. Nancy Geisler has made 53% of her three-point shots and 84% of her free throws and leads the district in those categories.

Kristen Bevis, a junior guard on the Southern California College women’s basketball team, became the school’s all-time leading scorer this month.

Bevis has scored 1,063 points in her three-year career, breaking the record of 983 held by Gail Brown.

Bevis surpassed Brown, who finished her career in the 1988-89 season, in a 66-52 loss to Cal State San Bernardino in the first round of the Cal Baptist tournament Jan. 2. Bevis scored 11 points in the loss.

Bevis, who will graduate in May after three years, doesn’t plan to return for her final season of eligibility.

Add SCC: Athletic Director Ron Prettyman has coached the women’s team the past six games since Coach Dave Smith was put on administrative leave Jan. 9. The college has released no other information. The Vanguards (8-14, 0-4) will play at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at The Master’s (3-12).

College Division Notes

The Christ College Irvine men’s team evened its record to 10-10, 2-2 in the conference, with a 73-71 victory over Azusa Pacific Tuesday. The Eagles play Fresno Pacific (7-8, 0-2) following the women’s game Saturday in Fresno. . . . NAIA President James Chasteen will attend the NAIA District 3 meeting Jan. 28 at Southern California College.