COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Lows Abound in Chapman’s Loss to Cal State Bakersfield

Chapman’s already moribund season took a turn for the worse Friday night when the Panthers were dropped by Cal State Bakersfield, 60-41, in a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. game at Hutton Center.

The Panthers (6-11, 1-4 in the CCAA) shot a season-low 29% from the field, dooming their chances of upsetting the defending conference co-champions.

Entering the game, Bakersfield (15-3, 4-1) had allowed its opponents an average of 59.4 points, third-lowest in the NCAA Division II.

The Panthers (6-11, 1-4) never threatened to reach that total in their lowest offensive output since losing, 58-40, to Cal State Sacramento in the 1985-86 season. It took a late Chapman rally to crack 40 points, something that it hadn’t failed to do since losing, 50-33, to Redlands in the 1954-55 season.

Lows abounded. The Panthers scored a season-low 18 in the first half, making only 31% of its shots from the field as Bakersfield took a 28-18 lead.

The Roadrunners, who were the coaches’ preseason pick to win the conference title, extended their lead early in the second half with a 16-3 run that gave them a 24-point lead with 14 minutes 5 seconds remaining. From then on, it was garbage time.

“We were thoroughly beaten by a much better, stronger, active team,” Chapman Coach Bob Boyd said. “They had way too much depth for us. They were far too physical.”

Boyd left the building without any other comment.

Although they didn’t make a field goal until Brian Kenney’s 15-foot jumper with 15:50 left in the half, the Panthers stayed close early. Chapman led, 10-8, after Kenney made two free throws at 12:15, but Bakersfield went on a 15-4 run to open up a 23-14 lead that virtually put the game out of reach.

Bakersfield shut down the Chapman offense by keeping the ball away from Rog Middleton, the Panthers’ leading scorer. Bakersfield used 6-foot-10 Russell Javis, 6-6 Forest Buffington and 6-5 Beau Redstone to put the muscle on 6-4 Middleton, who was only able to take three shots in the first half.

Middleton, who is averaging 16.4 points, scored only nine points, making one of six shots from the field. He also had 13 rebounds.

In nonconference women’s tennis:

UCLA 8, UC Irvine 1--Playing No. 1 singles in her collegiate dual match debut, freshman Anne Mall, a former Dana Hills High standout, defeated Irvine’s Ali Yoshimoto, 6-0, 6-1, in the fourth-ranked Bruins’ (3-0) victory at UCLA.

In Pacific 10 Conference wrestling:

Cal State Fullerton 30, Stanford 13--The Titans won their second match of the day in the Bay Area as Michael Grubbs (118), Farzin Daneshnia (126) and Lyndon Campbell (134) won by decisions. The Titans defeated San Francisco State, 35-13, in a nonconference match earlier Friday.

In Big West Conference women’s gymnastics:

Cal State Fullerton 187.40, San Jose State 137.65--Karena Mills won the all-around, and Titan gymnasts also won all four individual events at Titan Gym as 18th-ranked Fullerton improved to 2-1.

Francine Garrett, a member of the Israeli National Team who joined the Titans Jan. 6, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee on the balance beam and will be out for the remainder of the season.

In Big West Conference men’s gymnastics:

San Jose State 220, Cal State Fullerton 210.25--Fullerton’s Karl Nove won the high bar and tied teammate Tony Hang for the best score on the floor exercises.

Fullerton is now 2-10, San Jose 4-7.