COLLEGE DIVISION NOTEBOOK / MARTIN BECK : SCC Men Face Formidable Task Against Biola

The good news? The Southern California men’s basketball team shook itself out of the late-season doldrums Tuesday by defeating Azusa Pacific, prolonging its season at least one more game.

The bad? The game is against Biola (29-3), which has won 22 consecutive games and is ranked fourth in the NAIA Division I. The teams will meet in the semifinals of the NAIA District 3 playoffs at 8 p.m. Saturday at Whittier College. At stake is a spot in the final against the winner of the 6 p.m. game between The Master’s College and Westmont and a chance at the district’s automatic berth in the NAIA national tournament.

The Vanguards (22-9) defeated Biola, 81-73, in their first game of the season, but historically, SCC hasn’t fared well against Biola in postseason play. Biola eliminated the Vanguards in a semifinal game last season and in the title games in 1989 and 1982.

“We haven’t really been able to take care of them the way we would like to in a playoff game,” SCC Coach Bill Reynolds said. “But we are still going to give it another shot.”

Chapman will take an initial step toward joining the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference today when Athletic Director Dave Currey attends a meeting of the conference’s athletic directors.

Chapman announced Wednesday that it would be dropping from NCAA Division II to Division III and applying to join the SCIAC for the 1993-94 season.

Dave Jacobs, athletic director at Whittier College and chairman of the SCIAC athletic director’s committee, said he had advised Currey previously and believes Chapman would be a good addition to the SCIAC. But, he said, the conference is no longer actively searching for members after Cal Lutheran became its eighth member this season.

Jacobs said the application process would likely include a fact-finding trip to the Chapman campus by an SCIAC delegation. The final decision would be made by the presidents of the SCIAC schools after consultation with the Faculty Athletic Committee.

“It’s not an easy thing to join our conference, and we just had another school join,” Jacobs said. However, Jacobs said he thought Chapman’s bid would be enhanced by adding a football team. Chapman is looking into that possibility. Of the eight SCIAC schools, only Caltech doesn’t field an intercollegiate football team.

Jacobs stressed that the SCIAC’s membership, which also includes La Verne, Redlands, Occidental, Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, has been stable for some time.

“It’s not a steppingstone for someone,” Jacobs said. “Some of our members have been in it since 1905. We had to kick out UCLA and San Diego State and all those other low-level schools.”

Rog watch: For the third consecutive season, Chapman’s Rog Middleton has been named to the NCAA Division II All-West Region team. Middleton averaged 18.3 points this season and became the leading scorer in Chapman history. He finished with 1,899 points, breaking the record of 1,884 set by Bob Hamblin from 1955-59.

Middleton also set records for scoring average (18.8) and career shooting percentage (.656) and had the four highest single-season percentages, including a high of .675 this season.

Christ College Irvine women’s basketball Coach Kent Schlichtemeier was named the NAIA District 3 coach of the year. Schlichtemeier led the Eagles to their first District 3 title in only their second appearance in the playoffs. CCI lost to fourth-seeded Wayland Baptist (Tex.) in the first round of the NAIA national tournament and finished 25-5.

College Division Notes

Southern California College guard Rick Witmer was named the men’s player of the year in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Witmer, who averaged 19.6 points in the regular season, was also a first-team All-District 3 selection. Other local players honored were CCI’s D’Andre Brown, All-GSAC and first-team All-District 3; SCC’s Mike Henjum, All-GSAC and second-team all-district, and Mike West, All-GSAC and second-team all-district. . . . Christ College Irvine center Gitte Mejer was named the women’s player of the year in the GSAC. Mejer, who averaged 17.8 points in the regular season, was also a first-team, all-district selection. Other local players honored were Christ College Irvine’s Nancy Geisler, All-GSAC and first-team all-district; Stacy Kirch, first-team all-district, and Genevieve Graff, second-team all-district, and Southern California College’s Kristen Bevis, second-team all-district. . . . Chapman’s Marvette Williams was a first-team All-CCAA selection. Linda Kirby was a second-team selection and Missy Abraham and Julie King received honorable mention.