College Division : At Biola, They Play Six-Man Basketball

Under most circumstances, there is nothing unusual about the Biola men’s basketball team starting its season with three wins in its first four games.

After all, the Eagles were 31-5 last season and have been a perennial power in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District III.

Only this season Biola has won despite having just six players available to play.

With six transfers ineligible to compete at first, the Eagles figured to have only seven players at the start of the season.

That was before forward Anton Walker was sidelined with a back injury before the team’s opener.

So Biola was left with Paul Horn at center, Scott Swanner and Tyler Larsen at forwards, and Dave Hardin and Eric Nielsen at guards and swingman John Dwyer as the only reserve.

While that hasn’t allowed for much rest, it didn’t stop the Eagles from winning the Cal Poly Pomona tournament and finishing second to Southern California College in the Chapman College tournament--both in November.

Fortunately for the Eagles, the situation should improve considerably after Biola plays Cal Lutheran Thursday night.

That will be the team’s last game before Christmas break, after which six transfers will become eligible.

Two of the six are former NCAA Division I players, swingman Kevin Hood (6-6) from the University of Montana and center-forward Ed Johansen (6-9) from UC Irvine. Hood was an honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference selection at Montana last season, and Johansen started 5 games for Irvine.

Two others who are expected to help immediately are Brandle Studevan, a 6-3 guard from West Valley College and 6-9 forward John Stiver, who returned to the Southland from Florida International. Stiver played at Biola 4 years ago.

That will give the Eagles a much different look for their game against Bethany Bible on Dec. 17 and added ammunition for another run at the District III title.

At the start of the season, first-year Coach Terry Layton of Azusa Pacific University said he expected his men’s basketball team to fast break a little more than usual.

But the Cougars may have carried it to an extreme against Loyola Marymount last week.

The Cougars may have lost, 164-138, to the run-and-gun Lions--a team that reached the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division I playoffs last season. However, Azusa Pacific produced its share of collegiate records in the process.

The 138 points by Azusa Pacific was the most ever for a losing team in the NAIA and also tied a school record set against Biola in 1969.

The 164 points were the most Azusa Pacific has ever allowed in a game.

The combined total of 302 points was the second-highest ever for a college game. It was just below the 306 points that Livingston of Alabama and Mississippi College totaled in a 1969 game.

After the scoring outburst against Loyola Marymount, Azusa Pacific came back to score 125 in a victory over West Coast Christian (125-39) in its next game.

The California Collegiate Athletic Assn. will be well-represented in the NCAA Division II women’s volleyball final tournament at North Dakota State this week.

It is not exactly a surprise that Cal State Northridge and UC Riverside have reached the final eight, though. Not when you consider the success of both teams this season and in recent years.

Northridge, which has a 31-11 record and is ranked No. 5 in Division II, has reached the division semifinals each year since 1981 including national titles in 1983 and 1987.

Riverside, which is 24-4 and ranked No. 4 in Division II, has also won three Division II titles since 1977 including its most recent in 1986.

That should place both teams among the favorites again, although top-ranked Portland State (32-5) is considered the team to beat. The Vikings defeated Northridge in 4 games on Nov. 22.

In quarterfinal matchups, Northridge faces Central Missouri State (32-5)--the team it defeated for the championship last year--and Riverside meets Regis of Colorado (37-5). The semifinals are Saturday and the final Sunday.

College Division Notes

Coach Sue Gozansky of UC Riverside, who led the Highlanders to a CCAA co-championship with Cal State Northridge in women’s volleyball, has been named the conference’s coach of the year. Hitter Sheri Benson of Riverside and setter Karen Langston of Northridge were named co-players of the year in the conference. . . . For the fourth straight year, Walt Ker of Cal State Northridge has been selected NCAA Division II Southwest Region coach of the year by the American Volleyball Coaches Assn. . . . The Biola women’s volleyball team, which had a 24-4 record and was defeated in the NAIA District III playoffs, has placed senior outside hitter Liane Lewis and freshman setter Julie Dahlberg on the NAIA All-America third team. Lewis also was an NAIA Scholar Athlete Award winner for the second straight season.