Concordia Dodges a Bullet in Its Conference Opener

The Concordia men’s basketball team nearly let its Golden State Athletic Conference opener slip away Tuesday, but Coach Greg Marshall wasn’t grousing about the blown 17-point lead.

“To me,” Marshall said, “it didn’t look like we were choking. It looked like we were unlucky.”

Of course, it’s easier to find a positive spin after a victory, and Concordia won, 105-96, in overtime. The Eagles (12-4) scored the first nine points of overtime and won their eighth consecutive game.

The result took the sting away from missing seven of eight free throws in the final three minutes of regulation. The one they made sent the game into overtime, point guard Danny Barajas made one of two with 11 seconds left.

Cal Baptist trailed, 47-30, at the half but chipped away and took the lead, 76-75, with 3 minutes 35 seconds left in regulation. After that there were four lead changes before Barajas’ free throw tied it at 85.

Senior forward Pharoah Jones continues to excel after missing the first seven games of the season because of a knee injury. Jones scored 22 points, making 10 of 13 shots after making nine of nine last Saturday in a 98-82 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran.

Concordia continues conference play tonight at Biola (14-3, 0-1).

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Another streak: The Concordia women’s team also beat Cal Baptist Tuesday, and the Eagles’ 75-63 victory was their 11th in a row after losing their first four games of the season.

Concordia led by 11 after the first half and never let Cal Baptist get close in the second. Concordia Coach Dave Wolter said lately that’s the way it’s been going for the Eagles.

“Cal Baptist played hard,” Wolter said, “but we’re at a point, knock on wood, where we are answering those challenges. No one really gets a run against us.”

Angela Sather, who began the week as the conference’s leading scorer (19.7 points), continued to lead Concordia. She had 23 points and 10 rebounds. Wolter said other players have been stepping up when necessary; for instance, sophomore center Heather Carll had 20 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore guard Melissa Ridge scored 27 points in a 70-64 victory over Occidental last Saturday.

Concordia (12-4), which defeated The Master’s, 88-62, in a nonconference game Thursday and will be at Biola tonight, is still improving, Wolter said. “We still have rough edges to work out,” Wolter said. “We’re not playing the kind of basketball that we could be playing.”

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The Southern California College men’s team, which has had trouble winning conference games the last two years, also won its opener Tuesday, beating Point Loma Nazarene, 79-68.

SCC Coach Bill Reynolds was especially encouraged that the Vanguards played more intensely on defense. “I think we played our best defensive game of the year, which we need because we’re not a very effective offensive team,” Reynolds said.

Junior guard Robert Darville was crucial to the effort, Reynolds said. Darville, a transfer from Long Beach City, scored 13 points, had three steals and forced turnovers on at least three more plays.

“He just really sparked us,” Reynolds said, “in those types of ways that aren’t recognized by statistics.”

The Vanguards (9-6) play at Westmont tonight.

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Notes

Terence Wilborn, a former Mater Dei basketball player, has transferred to Southern California College from San Jose State, SCC Coach Bill Reynolds announced Friday. Wilborn, who played two seasons at San Jose State after graduating from Mater Dei in 1993, is sitting out this season. He has two years of eligibility remaining. . . . The Chapman softball team, the 1995 NCAA Division III champion, was top-ranked by College Sports magazine in the 1996 coaches’ preseason poll. The Panthers received eight of 10 first-place votes. Central (Iowa), which Chapman beat in the regional playoffs last season, is ranked No. 2. . . . . Monique Sweet was named to the all-tournament team at the Redlands tournament after leading the Chapman women’s basketball team to the title. Sweet scored 20 points in the Panthers’ 85-82 victory over Redlands in the title game last Saturday. Chapman beat UC San Diego, 69-68, Friday. . . . The Chapman men’s team stopped a four-game losing streak Friday by beating Cal Maritime, 111-62. Tonight, the Panthers will host UC San Diego. . . . Pacific Christian men’s soccer players Ryan Bean and Donald Laing were named National Christian College Athletic Assn. All-American. Bean, a junior from La Palma (Kennedy High), was named to the first team, Laing, a freshman from Jamaica, to the second.