Some Like It Hot in Chapman’s Gym

Although the Hutton Center, Chapman’s 2,400-seat gym is rarely more than a quarter full for the Panther men’s basketball games, the team still has a significant home-court advantage.

Mike Bokosky, the first-year coach, recognizing the Panthers don’t have the talent to dominate their competition in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., has turned up the heat.

“It’s the hot box. The hot house,” said senior guard Brian Kenney, after Chapman’s 92-76 victory over Cal State San Bernardino Saturday.

Bokosky figures the temperature at court level is about 85 degrees--an environment conducive to the Panthers’ running game. Bokosky said he keeps the gym hot for practices, and that the heat keeps his players loose.

It also may wear down other teams. Chapman has won two of three CCAA home games and its only home defeat in the conference was an 84-83 loss to Cal State Los Angeles.

Bokosky downplays possible effects on opponents.

“It’s sure not going to fatigue them to the point that they are going to give up,” Bokosky said. “It’s really for our benefit more than anything else.”

Chapman’s victory over San Bernardino came at an opportune time, Bokosky said.

“Winning solves everything,” he said. “It makes practice better. If we would have lost to San Bernardino, our players would have been saying, ‘Whoa, what do we do now?’ ”

Instead, Chapman (5-13, 2-4 in conference) has a chance to move into a tie for fourth place with a victory on Saturday against Cal State Dominguez Hills (11-5, 3-3). The conference’s top four teams qualify for the postseason tournament, to which the Panthers haven’t advanced since the 1988-89 season.

Getting there this time is a longshot, but winning home games is crucial. Dominguez Hills is one of the conference’s top defensive teams, allowing a CCAA-low average of 64.2 points.

The Toros have a strong front line in Al Kiilehua (6 feet 6), Joe Bertrand (6-6) and Vince Washington (6-5). Darnell Patterson, a 6-5, 240-pound part-time starter, will likely come off the bench Saturday.

That type of inside bulk has given the more diminutive Panthers problems, so Bokosky has stressed defense in practice this week, concentrating especially on weakside help.

“It’s easier said than done,” Bokosky said. “You have to drill it and drill it and drill it. They’re goingto get the ball in there, but we’ve basically got to molest them inside.”

The struggling Chapman women’s basketball team will have the unenviable experience of playing Cal Poly Pomona at 5:45 p.m. Saturday in the Hutton Center.

Last Saturday, Pomona (14-2, 2-1), ranked No. 9 in NCAA Division II, lost to UC Riverside, 60-53. It was the Broncos’ first loss to Riverside.

Chapman (2-14, 0-4) isn’t at full strength, with two players--Tamara Lewis and Julie Armendariz--academically ineligible and two others--Kim Moock and Sig Lo--returning from injuries.

Moock, the backup center, sat out the last two games because of a stress fracture. Lo strained knee ligaments early in the Panthers’ 88-49 loss to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo last Saturday.

Bert Blyleven, the former Angel pitcher who recently signed a free-agent contract with the Minnesota Twins, will be the featured speaker at Chapman’s Don Perkins Hall of Fame banquet Feb. 10 at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange.

Three former Chapman athletes will be inducted.

--Belinda Arterberry, the school’s all-time leading scorer inwomen’s basketball. She played from 1982-85 and averaged 17.6 points and 10.7 rebounds. She was Chapman’s first All-American in women’s basketball.

--Jack Duddy, who died in 1991, will be inducted posthumously. Duddy, a 1942 graduate who played guard on the basketball team, founded in 1948 the Los Angeles Red Devils, a team believed to be the first professional basketball franchise on the West Coast.

--Vikram Kumar, a 1983 graduate who helped Chapman to a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. men’s tennis title and its first NCAA tournament appearance. Kumar is a native of Calcutta, India.

Notes

Glen Greene, a guard who started in each of Chapman’s first 12 games this season, expects to find out Friday if he will be academically eligible to play in Saturday’s game, Coach Mike Bokosky said. . . . The Chapman men’s tennis team opens its season today at Loyola Marymount. The Panthers play host to Cal State Los Angeles in a CCAA opener at 11 a.m. Saturday. . . . The Chapman baseball team opens its season Tuesday at Hart Park, playing host to UC San Diego at 2 p.m. The Panthers will play host to St. Mary’s for a four-game series starting Thursday and ending with a doubleheader Saturday. . . . Tickets for the Hall of Fame banquet are available from the Chapman athletic department. Single seats are available for $100 with proceeds going to the athletic department’s general fund. For more information call, (714) 997-6691.