This Time, Bastani Makes the Shot

Freshman Ramin Bastani broke into Chapman’s starting lineup because of his defense, but with one shot last week, he reaffirmed why he is staying there.

Trailing UC San Diego by three points with less than 10 seconds left in the second overtime, Chapman had the ball under its basket. The full-court play Chapman coaches had set up wasn’t being executed, so Bastani quickly took matters into his own hands.

After taking a pass near midcourt, he dribbled across the time line, and as he neared the three-point arc, three San Diego defenders swarmed him.

“I pulled up and shot--I was trying to draw a foul,” Bastani said. “As I was hitting the ground, I saw it fall in.

“I was pretty happy.”

Perhaps an understatement, but he also was relieved. His basketball career at Corona del Mar High ended with a similar desperation shot last year. Trailing La Puente Bassett by three points in the final seconds of a Southern Section Division IV-AA semifinal, Bastani took a long shot that bounced off the heel of the rim.

It wasn’t far from his mind against San Diego.

“At about half court I was thinking, ‘I can’t miss this again,’ ” he said.

This shot also hit the heel, but bounced in and quieted the crowd of 4,000 in UCSD’s new on-campus arena. The Panthers (10-5) won in the third overtime, 109-102.

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Bastani immediately impressed Chapman coaches this season. In his first college game, he scored 18 points in an 86-72 loss to Claremont-Mudd.

By the seventh game of the season, he was a starter.

A 6-foot-3 wing, Bastani is averaging 10.5 points and nearly four rebounds, but Chapman depends most on his defense.

“He’s in such good shape,” Chapman assistant Terry Boesel said. “I think he just wears other guys out.”

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Nice rebound: After losing its first home game of the season, 76-61, to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps early last week, the Chapman women’s team bounced back Saturday with a 68-67 victory against UC San Diego.

It was a pleasant turnaround for Coach Mary Hegarty.

“The Claremont game was very disappointing because of the way we played,” Hegarty said. “We just didn’t seem to have the fire that night, and I was happy to see how we responded with a lot of heart against San Diego.”

Chapman (8-6), which led by as many as 14 points, led by eight with about a minute and a half to play. But poor free-throw shooting almost helped San Diego pull it out.

Deb Nilsen, who had made 46 of 48 free throws to rank No. 1 in the NCAA Division III at 95.8%, missed five in the final minutes.

Nilsen, who also has the nation’s top single-game assist performance with 14 against Elmira (N.Y.), is still shooting 87.5% from the line, which ranks her third in the nation.

“I think she’ll bounce back,” Hegarty said.

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Streak stopper: Concordia Coach Greg Marshall said his team seemed uninspired early in its 67-63 loss at Fresno Pacific Tuesday, which ended the Eagles’ 13-game winning streak.

Fresno Pacific took a 15-2 lead, forcing Marshall to go to the bench early. One of those who took a seat on the bench was point guard Danny Barajas, who soon sat down for good. About eight minutes into the half, Concordia guard Sam Sabbara and Fresno Pacific guard Ty Amundsen got into a scuffle and Marshall ran onto court to help break it up.

“By the time I got out there,” Marshall said, “it was over. I started walking back to the bench and the official said, ‘No. 5 is gone.’ ”

Barajas, No. 5, was ejected for coming onto the floor. “He wasn’t within 50 feet of anyone, but they felt that because he left the bench, he was out.”

Concordia, which trailed by 20 at one point in the half, cut the deficit to 37-23 at the half and continued to rally in the second half. The Eagles (17-2, 2-1) had a couple chances to tie the score in the final minute.

“In the second half we really dominated play--we outscored them by 10--but you dig the hole too deep, it’s hard to get out of it,” Marshall said.

Saturday, Concordia should receive another tough test when it plays host to defending conference champion Azusa Pacific (14-6, 3-0). Concordia is 13-0 at home this season, but Azusa Pacific has won five in a row against the Eagles.

Notes

Chuck Henderson scored 25 points and Charles Ross 23 as Pacific Christian beat San Jose Christian, 96-92, Tuesday, virtually wrapping up the top seeding in the National Christian College Athletic Assn. regional tournament, Feb. 16-18 at Rosary High School. Ross is averaging 27 points and 13 rebounds. Henderson is averaging 19 points and shooting 53% from the field. . . . The Concordia women’s basketball team fell out of a tie for first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference by losing, 80-60, Tuesday at Fresno Pacific.