Holding the reins of one of the...

Holding the reins of one of the top teams in the country as point guard for Kansas (25-6), Adonis Jordan (Cleveland) has suffered through the entire season. He has a lower-leg stress fracture that sends waves of pain through his body. For 10 hours a day, he wears a device that facilitates healing of the bone through electric impulses. Discomfort comes early in the morning, late at night and whenever he plants his foot.

“I’d say I’m 95%,” said Jordan, who has more steals (59) and a better free-throw percentage (79.5) than last season but is on the downside in scoring average (11.7 points per game), minutes (30.8) and field-goal percentage (45.9). “All I need is three weeks of doing nothing after the season and I’ll be healed.”

Thirty down, three to go: Losing often means learning, and coaches will accept some early- to mid-season defeats for that very reason. Could the fact that Cal State Bakersfield is entering the NCAA Division II tournament’s “Elite Eight” with a 30-0 record be cause for concern? Guard Reggie Phillips, formerly of Ventura College, said the Roadrunners can’t think about losing now.

“We don’t get into the record thing too much,” Phillips said. “Coach tells us we’re zero and zero. We’re just trying to win three games.”

Everyone in the city of Bakersfield has squeezed onto the Roadrunner bandwagon as the team prepares to face North Carolina Central in Springfield, Mass., next Thursday.

Said Phillips: “I will be walking in the mall and people will come up and say, ‘We’re following you. Win it all for us.’ ”

Phillips said his post-transfer performances have surprised him. He is averaging 12.5 points and has 36 steals.

Checking the fax: It was a happy weekend for the Branham family. On Sunday, Richard Branham (Cleveland) and his California teammates were given the sixth seeding in the NCAA Midwest Regional. On Saturday, his older brother, George Branham III, won the Baltimore Open, his first Professional Bowlers Assn. title in six years. . . . Branham is one of four former Valley players ticketed for the Midwest Regional. The others are Jordan of second-seeded Kansas, Nick Sanderson (Bell-Jeff) of seventh-seeded Brigham Young and Tony Madison (Antelope Valley College) of eighth-seeded New Orleans.

Oklahoma City’s Kevin Franklin (Taft) was a first-team choice for both All-Sooner Athletic Conference and All-NAIA District 9. Franklin had 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block in the District 9 tournament final last week. But he also fouled out in the Chiefs’ 115-112 loss to Oklahoma Baptist. Oklahoma City was 0-3 against Oklahoma Baptist this season. Franklin scored 26 points Tuesday to help the Chiefs advance past Spring Hill (Ala.), 87-79, in the first round of the NAIA tournament.

Lauren Goldstine (Westlake) and Sasha Scardino (Thousand Oaks) of UC Santa Barbara were named to the Big West Conference all-freshman team after they combined for 14.4 points and 10 rebounds per game. . . . New Mexico State’s Sam Crawford (Moorpark College), Jordan of Kansas and Dedan Thomas of UNLV (Taft, Antelope Valley College) received All-American honorable mention by the Associated Press.

In softball, Fresno State’s Kim Maher (Buena) entered the season third in school history with seven home runs. She blasted eight in her first 56 at-bats this year to become the Bulldogs’ all-time leader. She also had 21 runs batted in and a .500 batting average.

No. 2 Arizona jumped to an 18-0 start, thanks in part to Amy Chellevold (Thousand Oaks), Jamie Heggen (Thousand Oaks, Moorpark College), Krista Gomez (Alemany) and Jenny Dalton (Glendale), who carry batting averages of .456, .379, .321 and .302, respectively. Dalton, a freshman who set the Southern Section mark for home runs in a career with 28, hit a grand slam in her first collegiate plate appearance.

Hillerich & Bradsby Co., maker of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat, lists USC catcher Casey Burrill (Hart) as one of its 12 player-of-the-year candidates. Through 19 games, Burrill has lived up to the billing with a .493 average, 21 RBIs and eight home runs.

Deena Drossin (Agoura) of Arkansas continues to work her way up the U.S. distance-running ladder. Drossin placed second in the women’s 5,000 meters in the NCAA indoor championships at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis on Saturday. Her time of 15 minutes 53.78 seconds was a personal best by more than 22 seconds.

Peter De La Cerda (Granada Hills) of Adams (Colo.) State won his first NCAA Division II title in the indoor championships in Vermillion, S.D., on Saturday. He timed a personal best of 14:20.89 in the 5,000 to turn back teammate and roommate Phillip Castillo (14:24.75) for the title.