Depleted but Not Defeated, Chapman Proves Less Is Enough

After sending more than half his team home from a three-game trip for disciplinary reasons last week, Chapman men’s basketball Coach Mike Bokosky had to make some drastic changes for the final two games.

Fearing foul trouble with only six players available, he decided to go with a match-up zone against Dominican and Menlo. To fight fatigue, he instructed his players to rest on offense by holding the ball until about 15 seconds were left on the shot clock.

Desperate measures? Maybe, but they were effective. After suffering their worst defeat of the season, a 107-69 rout by Fresno Pacific with a full squad of 13 players last Wednesday, the Panthers--all six of them--beat Dominican and Menlo on Friday and Saturday.

Bokosky had sent home seven players, including three starters, Thursday morning after they violated team rules, including missing the curfew, after the Fresno Pacific game. The seven--starters Greg Reynolds, Umahl Anderson and Aaron Cornell and reserves Adam Dzierzynski, Edgar Diaz, Steve Van Horn and Rod Summers--were driven home by assistant coach Terry Boesel, who caught a flight back to join the team for the Dominican game in San Francisco.

Three of the remaining players--freshman guard Toby Curto, sophomore forward Chris Hacker and junior forward Jason Roczey--were among the four least-used players on the Panthers’ traveling squad.

But with senior guard Brian Wood, junior center Stefan Mumaw, and junior guard Anthony Gonzales, they made an effective team.

Bokosky said Chapman opponents seemed to take the Panthers lightly in their weakened state and he compared his team to an animal in a trap that will take extreme measures to escape.

“Our players became very intent and they were focused--I hate to use that word, focus, because it was the Laker phrase of the ‘80s--but it’s true,” Bokosky said.

“It’s an extreme example, but our players were that wounded animal. They would do anything to survive. They rebounded better, they played defense better.

“They knew they were in deep.”

Mumaw, a former University High player who transferred from Cuesta College, and Gonzales, a transfer from East Los Angeles College, led the charge. Mumaw had 22 points and Gonzales had 19 in the 80-73 victory over Dominican, an NAIA school. Gonzales, who made 50% of his three-point shots in the two games (11 of 22), scored 20 and Mumaw scored 13 in the 60-59 victory over Menlo, an NCAA Division III team that had defeated UC San Diego, 80-78, the night before. Curto scored 14 and Wood 13.

No Panther fouled out in either game.

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Bokosky met with the seven suspended players Monday at Chapman and said there will be no further disciplinary action. He declined to give details of the infractions.

Aaron Cornell, a senior captain, said he and the other players involved preferred not to comment about the incident.

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Gitte Mejer, Concordia’s record-breaking center, was named the Golden State Athletic Conference women’s player of the week for the third consecutive week--no other player has received the honor this season.

Mejer, who is averaging 36.1 points in her last seven games and set single-game scoring records of 47 and 53 in consecutive victories, scored 31 before fouling out with six seconds left during an 80-77 loss to Azusa Pacific Tuesday.

Concordia (10-8, 2-2 in the conference) will play host to Chapman (3-14) at 7:30 tonight. On Saturday, the Eagles have their homecoming game against Southern California College (16-4, 2-1). The women’s game is at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed at 7:30 by the men’s game.

The SCC men’s team (9-11, 0-4) has been depleted by injuries and medical problems and is looking for its first conference victory. Concordia (13-7, 2-2) has its strongest men’s team in Greg Marshall’s four years as coach.

Notes

The time of Chapman men’s basketball game against Patten College Thursday, Feb. 3, has been changed to 3 p.m. from 7:30, Chapman announced this week. The game was originally scheduled for the Occidental tournament Dec. 31 but Patten didn’t send a team because of ill players. Chapman’s Athletic Hall of Fame induction dinner at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange will follow the game at 6 p.m. Marvin Decker, and former Panther basketball players, and Eva Brown, a former softball player, will be inducted into the hall. Decker, a 1959 graduate who started four seasons for Chapman, averaged 10 points. He is a teacher and coach in the Orange Unified School District. Brown, a 1980 graduate who also played at Golden West, batted .325 for the Panthers. A Santa Ana resident, Brown works as an operations manager for Federal Express. . . . Former Ram All-Pro and Notre Dame All-American receiver Jack Snow will give the keynote address. Tickets are $35 and proceeds go to the university’s scholarship fund.