COLLEGE BASKETBALL / ORANGE COUNTY ROUNDUP : Mumaw Rings Up 30 Points, Leads Chapman Past La Verne

The future backcourt of the Chapman men’s basketball team and the current center helped the Panthers beat La Verne, 81-77, in a nonconference game Tuesday at Chapman.

Chapman (6-3) needed a strong effort all around to counter the 44-point performance of La Verne’s Joe Gonzalez. Gonzalez, a senior guard, was 16 of 32 from the field, including making 11 of 18 three-pointers.

Stefan Mumaw, Chapman’s tallest player at 6 feet 8, scored a career-high 30 points, going 13 of 17 from the field.

“I got good passes,” said Mumaw, who is from University High School. “We went straight for their weakness.”

Mumaw, who averages 15 points and 10 rebounds, was double-teamed for part of the second half, in which he scored 16 points. He had 11 rebounds in the game.

“Mumaw has been really good for us,” Chapman Coach Mike Bokosky said. “He can rebound and score. We’re going to have to get him the ball more.”

The Panthers also got strong contributions from Adam Dzierzynski and Toby Curto, both freshman guards.

Dzierzynski, from Santa Margarita High School, had 12 points, including three free throws, in the final 35 seconds.

Curto had five points, his first at the college level.

He had a first-half three-pointer, but his most important basket was a layup with 12 seconds left to give Chapman an 81-77 lead.

Chapman seemed to have things well in hand when Greg Reynolds (11 points) made a layup with 1:30 left to put the Panthers ahead, 74-64.

But La Verne (3-5) got two three-pointers from Mack Reliford and one from Gonzalez to cut the lead.

In nonconference women’s basketball:

Texas A&M; 84, UC Irvine 52--Allah-Mi Basheer scored 15 points for Irvine (1-5) in its worst loss of the season. Kelly Cerny had 16 points and Martha McClelland added 14 for Texas A&M; (6-1).

In the Oakland Tribune Classic:

Detroit Mercy 90, Cal State Fullerton 75--Shayla Bradshaw had 28 points and six assists and Shefonda Colbert added 12 for Fullerton (1-4). Faith Cyr scored 18 points for Detroit Mercy, which led by two points at halftime but outscored the Titans, 52-39, in the second half.