Concordia’s Radar on Target; Azusa Shot Down

Hot streaks are part of basketball games, but few are as torrid as Concordia’s second-half run in a 112-96 Golden State Athletic Conference men’s victory over Azusa Pacific Tuesday.

The Eagles made 17 of their first 20 shots, an 85% success rate. They cooled a bit after that, making six of 10 to finish 76.7% from the field in the half, 66.7% for the game.

“It was like we had radar on,” Concordia Coach Greg Marshall said.

Azusa Pacific, which started the week ranked ninth nationally in the NAIA, hung with the Eagles at first and led, 65-63, with 13 minutes 34 seconds left. The Eagles then went on a 25-4 run to take control. Reserve guard Rick Haywood scored 11 points during that span.

Haywood, a good outside shooter averaging 47% from the field before the game, had an outstanding night. He made eight of 10 shots, including both of his three-point attempts, and scored 20 points.

Many others got into the act. Only one player, guard Jaime Jaquez, made fewer than half his shots. Tarik James scored 27 points, making six of seven from beyond the three-point arc. Forward Pharoah Jones, who led the conference in field-goal percentage (69.8%) at the start of the week, made 10 of 15 shots, scoring 21 points. Point guard Danny Barajas had 19 points.

The victory knocked Azusa Pacific (21-6, 8-3 in conference) back into a tie for first with Westmont (16-9, 8-3), one game ahead of Concordia (18-8, 7-4) and Southern California College (16-10, 7-4).

It was a rare loss at home for Azusa Pacific, which had won 13 in a row in Memorial Gym. The Cougars are 52-5 there since 1992.

Azusa Coach Bill Odel was impressed. “After the game Coach Odel said, ‘Greg, that was the finest performance any team has ever had against mine,’ ” Marshall said.

“We really couldn’t have played any better.”

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Marshall got good news Tuesday when he learned 6-foot-7 forward Jeff Putnam will be available for Saturday’s home game against Westmont.

Putnam fractured his elbow after taking a charge in a game Feb. 3 and was expected to miss the rest of the season. But after working to rehabilitate the elbow, Putnam received clearance to play from a doctor.

“He’s been so determined that he is going to come back,” Marshall said. “He’s a senior and Saturday is our last home game.

“I don’t know what he’ll be able to accomplish, but if he says he can play, we’ll put him in there.”

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Big game: The Chapman women’s basketball team seems to be peaking at the perfect time. The Panthers (13-8) played one of their best games of the season Tuesday, leading Occidental by 28 points with six minutes left before putting in the reserves and winning, 76-64.

Friday, Chapman hosts UC San Diego at 5:30 p.m. in a game with NCAA Division III playoff implications. Chapman is ranked eighth in the West Region poll; San Diego (16-6) is ranked sixth. Eight teams make the playoffs.

“They are in a precarious position too,” Chapman Coach Mary Hegarty said, “and we are hanging on by the skin of our teeth to that eighth spot.”

When the teams played in La Jolla last month, Chapman won, 69-68, on a short shot at the buzzer by Lyndsay Brown.

Chapman has two games remaining in the regular season: Tuesday at home against Christian Heritage and next Thursday at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, ranked fourth in the region.

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Good beginning: For the first time in his three seasons as Chapman baseball coach, Rex Peters is upbeat at the start of a season. The Panthers are 2-2 after losing to La Verne, 8-7, Tuesday. Both of Chapman’s losses were to La Verne, the defending NCAA Division III champion.

“My first year I think we started 0-10 and last year we were 0-6,” Peters said. “We’re 2-2 and, heck, that’s the best start we’ve had.”

Peters says Chapman, which was 16-20 last season, has a deeper pitching staff and should be stronger on defense. The middle of the batting order--Cale Shepherd, Donny Disbro, Todd Steinhardt and Matt McCready--packs a lot of power. Shepherd, a transfer from Dixie College in Utah who played at El Modena High, already has nine runs batted in.

“I think we definitely should improve over last year’s record,” Peters said. “Whether we are a playoff team, I don’t know. We’re going to have to play well against the better teams in the area.”

At 2 p.m. today, the Panthers will be host to Southern California College (1-5) at Hart Park.

Notes

Two outfielders quit the Chapman softball team this week: Erin Oakley, a freshman from Tustin, and Melissa Hernandez, a sophomore who played for the Panthers last year. . . . Monique Sweet, a senior forward on the Chapman women’s basketball team, was named the Division III West Region player of the week by Columbus Multimedia. Sweet, from Estancia High, averaged 13 points in two Chapman victories. She had 16 points and 10 rebounds in a victory over Whittier. . . . The Chapman men’s basketball team, 14-10 after a 90-54 loss at Division I Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Tuesday, returns to the Hutton Center Friday for a 7:30 p.m. game against Christian Heritage. The game follows the women’s game between Chapman and UC San Diego. The Panther men will finish the season a week later by hosting UC Santa Cruz.