Arena Has Big Opening Night

During its construction, the new Student Recreation Center at UC Riverside has served as a reminder of what the school’s athletic programs could not have.

Built with student funds, the center may be used only for intercollegiate athletic events that the current UC Riverside gym is not capable of holding--in other words, sellouts. That means one or two men’s basketball games a year and probably no volleyball or women’s basketball.

The gym’s capacity is about 900. The center is a 3,000-seat arena. It’s new, it’s better and, mostly, it’s forbidden.

But Saturday, it was home sweet home.

UC Riverside set a school attendance record for an athletic event Saturday night when 2,455 saw the men’s basketball team beat Cal State Bakersfield, 61-56, at the Student Recreation Center. The victory moved the Highlanders (14-6 overall, 6-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.) ahead of Bakersfield (17-4, 5-2).

“The place was just finished literally at 2 p.m. Saturday, and we played that night, so it was as new as it could be--they haven’t even put the backs on the seats yet,” said John Masi, UC Riverside men’s basketball coach and athletic director. “It was kind of a neutral site, but obviously it was a UCR crowd.”

Masi was concerned about how the players would adjust to a new setting against the defending Division II national champions. Going into the game, Riverside had lost seven consecutive games to Bakersfield.

“Playing there was a concern. To go over there was kind of unnerving,” Masi said. “Neither team shot well, although both teams play very good defense. Then there was a lot of stuff going on around the game, it was homecoming and there was a lot of hoopla.”

Indeed, Bakersfield made only 38% of its shots, Riverside only 32%. Riverside led, 32-20, at halftime.

As usual, UCR’s Bob Fife led the way. The 6-foot-11 senior center scored 23 points and had 15 rebounds, including 12 defensive rebounds, and blocked six shots. He is eighth nationally among Division II players in blocked shots, averaging nearly three a game.

“It was a critical game,” Masi said. “We couldn’t afford to lose. If we did, we would have been two behind in the loss column, and I don’t think we could have made that up. You never expect Bakersfield to lose when they play anywhere.”

Riverside’s victory capped a notable fortnight for Masi. He gained his 300th victory in a game against Patten College on Jan. 24 and has a record of 303-120 in 15 seasons. He has five consecutive 20-victory seasons.

“Any time you you reach the round figures, it’s a great milestone,” Masi said. “I’ve had some great kids and good assistant coaches, so it’s not just me.

“I just hope there’s a lot more than 300.”

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The Master’s College is off to its best start in men’s basketball.

At 22-3, The Master’s is already one victory away from matching the school record for victories in a season.

It’s not a big surprise--the Mustangs have won at least 20 games in each of the past four seasons--but with a new coach, an adjustment period was expected.

“I thought we would be good but I didn’t think we would jell as quickly as we did,” Coach Bill Oates said. “With a new coach and some new players, I thought it would take a little more time. But we’ve just been consistent night in and night out.”

He has been a successful coach at NCAA Division I, NCAA Division III, Athletes in Action and high school levels, and has a record of 620-255.

But he started from scratch at The Master’s.

“Basically, I knew nothing about the program,” Oates said. “ Everything has been a pleasant surprise. This is a group that is very motivated. We’ve had different people step forward in different games.”

Emeka Okenwa, a senior forward from Nigeria, leads the Mustangs with averages of 16 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game. Senior point guard Andy Thompson is averaging 6.6 assists, and sophomore forward James Mosley is averaging nearly 15 points.

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The NCAA ruled that four players in the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo baseball program should be suspended for varying numbers of games because of improper financial aid that the students received from groups not associated with the university.

The names and the details of the penalties were not released, but the athletes are to repay the money they were given. Neither the NCAA nor Cal Poly SLO would say how much money was involved, but apparently the athletes were unaware that they were receiving money improperly.

Cal Poly SLO is conducting an internal investigation of the matter, and Coach Steve McFarland has voluntarily taken leave from the program to avoid any perceived obstruction. Assistant coaches Kent Agler and Doug Noce are coaching the team until the investigation is completed.

Cal Poly SLO opened its season by sweeping a three-game series from visiting Cal State Northridge last weekend.

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Whittier hired Kirk Hoza as its football coach, replacing Ken Visser, who left to coach Chapman next season. Hoza had been an assistant coach at Redlands since 1990.

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Sophomore Brandon Bryce of Cal Poly Pomona set a school record with seven three-point goals in an 83-72 victory over Cal State San Bernardino on Jan. 29.