Game Will Measure Eagles’ Progress

Three years ago Concordia Coach Greg Marshall took over the Eagle men’s basketball program. He had lofty expectations, and his team started fulfilling them almost immediately.

In Marshall’s first season, the Eagles, picked to finish 11th of 12 teams in the NAIA District 3, advanced to the semifinals of the district tournament.

They have advanced to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, and before this season were picked by Golden State Athletic Conference coaches to finish second in the conference.

But Marshall constantly strives to improve.

“When I first took the job, my goal was to develop a top-20 program,” Marshall said. “I don’t think you can do that until you see how far you have to go.”

Marshall is giving his team a chance to measure that distance today when it plays Lipscomb University of Nashville, Tenn.

Lipscomb (12-1) was ranked second in the NAIA in the preseason and seems to deserve that lofty status. The Bisons are led by 6-foot-7 center John Pierce, who averaged a nation-high 31.9 points and was named the NAIA player of the year last season.

Lipscomb’s Andy McQueen made 143 three-point shots last season; the entire Concordia team made 97.

Since the 1985-86 season, when it won the national title, Lipscomb is 274-33, a winning percentage of 89.3%. Lipscomb has the winningest college basketball program in the nation at any level in the last 10 years.

Marshall said the Eagles (5-3) will have to play a perfect game to win.

“I keep hearing comments like, ‘You guys in the West are always overrated,’ ” Marshall said. “Hopefully, we will rise to the occasion and make a statement for West Coast basketball.

“If we don’t, we’ll try again next year.”

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The Southern California College men’s basketball team has had to practice with only seven players this week after a rash of injuries and medical problems.

During one four-day span this month, four Vanguards were sidelined. Most damaging has been the loss of two senior wings. Scott Campbell is out for the season because of a heart problem and John Naro is sidelined indefinitely because of what might be a heart problem.

Campbell, who sat out a season at Golden West because of an irregular heartbeat, was cleared by cardiologists to play this season, but after a practice late last month, a doctor revoked that clearance and Campbell is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Three days later, during warm-ups for a game at Fontbonne College in St. Louis, Naro said he felt his heart skip a beat and felt lightheaded. Naro has no history of heart problems and a doctor couldn’t find anything wrong, but recommended that he shouldn’t play until tests could be run in California.

But the next afternoon, Saturday before a game against Parks College, Naro got the feeling again and was checked into a hospital. Tests were inconclusive and Naro was released Monday, Dec. 6.

SCC Coach Bill Reynolds said Naro’s status is still uncertain because his test results from the St. Louis hospital haven’t arrived.

Earlier on the trip, during a loss to Southeast Missouri State, Eric Carmichael, the Vanguards’ leading scorer, suffered a serious ankle sprain and Mike Ruble, a 6-8 center, aggravated a groin injury.

“Our training room is like an urgent care center,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds hopes Carmichael can return for SCC’s game Saturday against American Indian Bible College in Costa Mesa. The Vanguards are 5-4.

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When it comes to getting his point across about not fouling, Chapman men’s Coach Mike Bokosky has a simple approach. Stefan Mumaw, a 6-foot-8 center, got his second foul with 11 minutes 40 seconds left in the first half of the Panthers’ 106-101 victory over Redlands Friday.

At that point, Bokosky removed Mumaw for the rest of the half. “I had to do it,” Bokosky said. “That way, he knows I mean it when I tell him.”

Mumaw returned to the court at the start of the second half but got his third foul before the half was two minutes old.

During a timeout, Bokosky reinforced his point to Mumaw. “Do you want to stay here (on the bench) with us and be an assistant coach? Then get another foul,” he said. Mumaw, took the words to heart. He went the rest of the way without a foul and finished with 14 points, 12 in the second half.

Chapman (5-2) will play host to Pomona-Pitzer Saturday at the Hutton Center.

Notes

Southern California College women’s volleyball player Genevie Wright, a junior middle blocker, was a third-team NAIA All-American selection. Wright is the first SCC volleyball player to be All-American. . . . Chapman men’s soccer players Erick Hurtarte and Armando Orizaba were named to NCAA Division II All-Far West Region teams. Hurtarte, a sophomore midfielder was a first-team selection, and Orizaba, a junior forward from Katella High, was a second-team pick.. . . The Chapman women’s basketball team, which is 2-6, will play host Pomona-Pitzer at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. SCC’s women’s team, which is 7-3, will play host to Whittier also at 5:30 p.m.