Three Area Teams Court a Golden Opportunity

With March Madness only a month away, few people may know that one of the most competitive races for a conference title in college basketball is going on in the Southland.

But it’s in the NAIA, not the NCAA, and the Golden State Athletic Conference is home to a frenetic three-way battle.

After the first half of conference play, Azusa Pacific, Biola and Westmont are tied for first place with 5-1 conference records.

Azusa Pacific and Biola are ranked in the top 10 of the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics poll, impressive considering the poll’s East Coast bias. About three-quarters of the NAIA member schools are east of the Mississippi River.

Azusa Pacific is 20-4 overall and ranked No. 6. The Cougars might have had a better record if their nonconference schedule hadn’t been so difficult. Three of the losses have come against teams ranked in the top five of their respective divisions at some point this season: Utah (NCAA Division I), Cal State Bakersfield (NCAA Division II) and Life University of Georgia (NAIA). Bakersfield and Life are defending national champions.

Biola is 20-2 and ranked No. 9. Unranked Westmont is 14-6.

Each school’s conference loss came at home: Westmont won at Azusa Pacific, Biola won at Westmont and Azusa Pacific won at Biola.

It seems possible that the three and possibly even Southern California College (15-9, 4-2) could be invited to the 32-team NAIA tournament next month.

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Azusa Pacific’s P.J. Brown was chosen in the third round of the Major League Soccer draft by the Colorado Rapids.

“When I came here I had a goal of being a first-team All-American--being drafted into the pros wasn’t in my thinking. But then there wasn’t an MLS in 1994,” Brown said. “It’s a little intimidating going from the NAIA to the pros, but I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m confident in my abilities.”

He has reason to be. A defender, Brown is the first two-time All-American at Azusa Pacific, which he helped lead to Golden State Athletic Conference titles the past two years.

While the Rapids want Brown to continue as a defender, they told him they want him to learn a new position.

“Colorado said they want to play me at right back, which I’ve never played before--I’ve always been a middle back,” Brown said.

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The men’s basketball program at Cal State Dominguez Hills helped itself with a couple of subtle yet significant changes.

Larry Hauser, hired as interim coach in July after 14 years at Santa Clara, has been named full-time coach.

An NCAA Division II program, Dominguez Hills is 7-11 and 2-3 in California Collegiate Athletic Assn. games. The seven victories already equal the number of victories by last season’s team, and it probably helped Hauser that the Toros won their conference opener against a very good UC Riverside team.

“I’m happy that the university and the athletic department have seen fit to have the ‘interim’ tag dropped,” Hauser said. “It should be of enormous significance in our recruiting efforts.”

The Toros also added senior Sidney Faison to their roster. Faison decided to transfer from Sacramento State after not playing there this season.

Faison was a standout at Long Beach Poly High before transferring to Mar Vista High in San Diego. At Mar Vista, he averaged 20 points and shared the All-Harbor League most valuable player award with Jelani McCoy, now at UCLA.

He played two seasons at Santa Monica College and was an All-Western State Conference selection.

“We are pleased that Sidney has gone the extra distance to make sure he is academically eligible here at Cal State Dominguez Hills,” Hauser said. “I hope that a player of his ability and athleticism does not become frustrated in learning our offensive and defensive schemes. It’s entirely up to Sydney when he will be ready to play.”

Faison played but could not make the difference in Dominguez Hills’ losses to top-ranked Bakersfield and Cal State San Bernardino.

College Division Notes

In a Division II women’s basketball showdown Saturday, No. 19 San Bernardino (19-2) will play at Cal Poly Pomona (12-9) at 5:30 in Darlene May Gym. The schools are tied for first place in the CCAA with 4-1 records.