Sabbara’s Addition Fits Concordia’s Chemistry : Men’s basketball: Guard joined Eagles after playing at Cypress and UC Riverside.

Sam Sabbara didn’t know what to expect when he landed at Concordia, his fourth college and third basketball team in four years.

Most of his college basketball experiences had been positive, but one that went sour made him a bit wary. You never know how you’re going to get along with a new group.

Turns out, Sabbara made fast friends, and Concordia has made fast work of most of its opponents. “Stuff like this you can’t explain,” Sabbara said. “Chemistry is a toss-up; it all depends on the guys.”

These guys have come together to form a fine small college basketball team. Concordia (26-6), which won 13 in a row at one point this season and was ranked as high as 10th in the NAIA Division I national poll, will play Azusa Pacific (23-9) in the semifinals of the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament at 8 tonight at Whittier College.

As usual, Sabbara, 23, is in the thick of it. Although a newcomer, his teammates voted him co-captain. He has started every game at off guard and averages 7.6 points and three assists, but he means more to the team than those statistics suggest.

“He’s not a gifted athlete by any means,” Concordia Coach Greg Marshall said. “There are a lot of better athletes in our school. I don’t know if he’d like to hear that, but it’s a real compliment to how hard he works.

“He’s the type of guy who finishes last in all the races until there is a loose ball and you have to go get it and score it. He never loses those.”

The story is similar wherever Sabbara has played. As a senior at Western High School, he led the Pioneers into the Southern Section quarterfinals. As a freshman at Cypress College, he helped the Chargers reach the State tournament semifinals. As a sixth man at UC Riverside, Sabbara was part of a team that advanced to the conference title game. Riverside lost by three points to Cal State Bakersfield, which then won the NCAA Division II championship.

But Sabbara wasn’t happy at Riverside. “It wasn’t fun up there,” he said. “There was a lot of animosity on the team.”

So he transferred to Cal State Fullerton, took a few months off from basketball and tried to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. He turned down an offer to walk on with the Fullerton basketball team.

After deciding to work toward becoming a teacher and basketball coach, Sabbara rededicated himself to the game. During his inactivity, he had gained about 35 pounds and it took some time to get back to his 180-pound playing weight. But he soon was back having his way in pickup games.

He contacted Concordia and Marshall offered him a scholarship, even though Sabbara had only one season of eligibility remaining.

“I’m happy,” he said. “It’s not the level you dream about playing on, but I’m going to be getting my degree in May and I’m getting on with my life.”

First, there’s at least one more college basketball game.

“Everybody in the league has played Azusa Pacific really close except for us,” Sabbara said. “They’re a good team, but I don’t think we’ve played very well against them.”

Sabbara and the Eagles will get another shot tonight.