The Master’s Basketball Program Has Chance for Another Big Step

When he became men’s basketball coach at The Master’s College in Santa Clarita four years ago, Mel Hankinson says, he had concerns about the program’s potential.

After all, the Mustangs didn’t have a winning tradition.

“When I came here, for about a month to six weeks I asked myself, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ ” Hankinson recalled. “I would be out trying to recruit and when I first started asking people about coming here, some of them didn’t know who The Master’s was. Sometimes they’d direct me to the golf coach.”

But perseverance appears to be paying off.

Last season, the Mustangs set a school record with 22 victories and a berth in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 playoffs.

This season, The Master’s (20-9) can take the biggest step under Hankinson when it plays host to Biola in its regular-season finale at 7:30 tonight. Biola (26-3) is ranked No. 6 in the NAIA Division I.

The winner will wrap up the top seeding in the NAIA District 3 tournament, which starts next week. “It’s the biggest game in the history of the school,” Hankinson says.

He doesn’t expect it to be easy. His team was defeated by the Eagles, 97-85, on Jan. 28 at Biola.

Regardless of the result, however, it’s clear the program at The Master’s has come a long way.

“We were at the bottom of the heap my first year, so it’s kind of nice to be fighting for the top this season,” Hankinson said.

“You have so much basketball here in Southern California that it’s nice that a little school (with an undergraduate enrollment of 855) like The Master’s can sneak up on people like this,” Hankinson said. “I think they’ve (the team) quietly paid their dues and this game would really show that we’ve arrived.”

The team didn’t sneak up on anyone this season. The Master’s was picked to finish second in the district in a preseason poll of coaches.

But Hankinson said the program has developed more rapidly than he thought it would.

“After I arrived here, I can tell you there was absolutely no way I could have predicted this,” he said. “I never dreamed it would come this fast.

“It usually takes five years for a program to come along this far and for it to take only four, you have to have some recruits develop and the community has to support you.”

Without question, the Mustangs have developed on both of those fronts.

The Master’s has been led by seniors Tom Bruner at forward and Jason Webster at guard--two players who have been with the program since Hankinson arrived. Webster is averaging 17.5 points and Bruner 12.7.

There is also growing community support for the Mustangs, who will hold a pep rally at 6 p.m. and expect to draw a capacity crowd of about 1,500 for the game.

Though the Mustangs will lose many of their top players from this season’s squad to graduation, Hankinson thinks the program has already established a steady base on which to build. In fact, he has signed five high school players and has four promising transfers for next season.

“We’re really rolling in the right direction in that regard,” he said.

It has been business as usual for the Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team.

The Broncos (21-5), ranked 15th in the NCAA Division II, have won an unprecedented 11 consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Assn. regular-season titles and finished conference play at 12-0 with a victory over second-place Cal State Dominguez Hills last week.

Pomona will be the overwhelming favorite when it plays host to the seventh annual CCAA postseason tournament Thursday and Friday at Kellogg Gym in Pomona. The Broncos have won the previous six tournaments.

The Broncos will meet fourth-seeded Chapman (12-14), and second-seeded Dominguez Hills (17-10) faces Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (15-11) in first-round games Thursday. The winners meet for the tournament title Friday, and the tournament champion receives an automatic berth in the Division II playoffs.

Pomona, which has made the Division II playoffs 10 seasons in a row, has been led by a front line that includes junior forward Carrie Stritenberg, senior forward Leslie Ellis and sophomore center Mildren Conston. Stritenberg leads the Broncos with a 16.4-point average.

With one game left in the regular season in CCAA men’s basketball, UC Riverside has clinched at least a share of its third title in the past four seasons.

By virtue of its two victories over second-place Cal State Bakersfield, the Highlanders have also assured that they will be host of the seventh annual CCAA postseason tournament March 6 and 7.

The Highlanders (22-3), ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Division II, hold a one-game lead over Bakersfield in the conference standings. Bakersfield has also clinched the No. 2 seeding in the tournament.

After Riverside and Bakersfield, the race for the final two spots in the four-team conference tournament is a little confusing. Cal State Dominguez Hills is in third place in the conference at 7-6 while Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal State San Bernardino are in a three-way tie for fourth at 6-7.

Dominguez Hills has clinched a tournament berth and can wrap up third place in the conference with a victory Saturday over last-place Chapman, a team it has defeated twice this season.

Among the three teams tied for fourth, Pomona appears to have the best chance of advancing. The Broncos will play host to seventh place Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday while San Bernardino plays host to Riverside and San Luis Obispo takes on Bakersfield.

College Division Notes

Longtime Whittier Coach Dave Jacobs, in his 21st season at the school, recorded his 300th victory in his team’s 80-74 upset of Cal Lutheran on Feb. 16. . . . The Claremont-Mudd men’s swim team won its 11th consecutive title and the Pomona-Pitzer women’s team won its 15th title in the past 16 years at the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference swimming and diving championships Sunday in Cerritos. . . . Guards Jeff deLaveaga of Cal Lutheran and Chris Greene of Claremont-Mudd have been named to the NCAA Division III All-West Region first team by the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches. A 6-4 senior, DeLaveaga leads the SCIAC and Division III in scoring with a 28.7-point average and is second on his school’s all-time scoring list with 2,111 points. Greene is second in the SCIAC in scoring with a 22.1 average.

Christ College Irvine (24-4) meets Fresno Pacific (24-4) for the NAIA District 3 women’s basketball championship at 7:30 tonight in Irvine. Christ defeated Cal Baptist, 105-80, in the district semifinals and Fresno defeated Point Loma Nazarene, 87-70. The winner of tonight’s game advances to the national tournament March 4-10 in Jackson, Tenn. . . . Three players from Christ College have been named to the NAIA District 3 women’s basketball team including sophomore center Gitte Mejer, junior guard Stacy Kirch and senior forward Nancy Geisler. Senior center Rochelle Lightner of Point Loma Nazarene, who averaged 18.6 points and 10.3 rebounds, was selected player of the year.