SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (7-10-06) -- San Diego Christian College will debut its inaugural baseball season against a school will a similar mascot, as the Hawks take on Simpson College of Redding in a doubleheader on Wed., Jan. 31. The twinbill against the visiting Red Hawks (3-23 in 2006) is slated for 11 a.m.

The twinbill is the first of 43 games announced by SDCC head coach Mike Lord, although additional contests are expected to be announced for a full 50-game schedule.

San Diego Christian currently plans to play most of its home contests at Stars Field, located on the Barona Indian Reservation north of Lakeside, located behind the band's museum and cultural center.

Following Simpson, the Hawks will play at UC San Diego on Tue., Feb. 6, host Occidental on Wed., Feb. 7, then play the first of 36 Golden State Athletic Conference contests with a doubleheader at Vanguard on Sat., Feb. 10.

Another interesting ballgame is set for Tue., Apr. 10, when the Hawks battle another first-year program in visiting Cal State San Marcos.

The majority of the GSAC season includes single games on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m., followed by Saturday doubleheaders starting at noon.

For the complete San Diego Christian baseball schedule, visit the school's website HERE.

-- Jesse McDonald, RHP, Oxnard College; posted a 6-1 record and a 3.07 ERA in 44 innings for the Condors, gaining a second-team berth on the Western State Conference Noirth Division team.

"Jesse was one of the top guys on a playoff team in a good league," said the Hawks skipper. "He is a competitor and will do well in the GSAC. He gets ahead of hitters and know how to pitch. His experience will help anchor our staff for the season."

Oxnard posted a 30-13 regular-season record before being swept in a 2-game playoff series to eventual state champion Long Beach City College.

-- Scott Whittet, OF, Whittier Christian HS

"Scott is another guy with very good speed. He was one of the top base stealers in Orange County and will fit will in our aggressive style of offense."

The Heralds placed second in the Alpha League, finishing 20-8 overall after faling in the CIF-Southern Section Div. VI quarterfinals to Temecula-Great Oak.

-- Chris Denhart, C-DH, Christian High; A 2002 graduate from Christian High who joins the Hawks following a 2-year layoff after playing for Southwestern College, where he was the Jaguars' second-leading hitter (.345) as a freshman.

"Chris can swing the bat and will be used as a catcher and DH."

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-10-06) -- San Diego Christian College, which will field a baseball team for the first time during the 2007 season, announced its initial group of player signings to scholarships by head coach MIKE LORD.

The list of five is headed by Palomar College outfielder DANNY FLANNERY, the son of San Diego Padres broadcaster and former player TIM FLANNERY.

The other included Christian High standouts SHANE STANOVIC and ADAM PERRY, plus two other community college transfers TYLER PERKINS (CF), a teammate of Flannery's with the Comets, and MATT LUNA (2B-RHP) of West Hills High and San Diego City College.

Flannery was a part-time starter in left for Palomar during the regular season, batting .292, as the Comets posted a 29-14 overall record, receiving the fifth to this weekend's opening round of the COA Southern California playoffs. Palomar will host Rio Hondo College (Whittier, CA) in a best-of-3 series.

"Danny's been around ballplayers all his life," noted Lord. "He's got the game-sense you look for in a young player."

Stanovic currently ranks as the third-leading hitter in East County with a .452 batting average, while also serving as one of the Central League's top left-handed throwing pitchers. Perry also possesses a solid .343 average and is among the East County stolen bases leaders serving, as Stanovic and Perry serve as the 1-2 force at the top of the Patriots' batting order.

"This game is made for left-handers," added the coach. "So Shane will fit right in. he's got good bat speed and can pitch, so there's huge upside with him. And Perry can really move and has good bat speed, too."

Perkins was a first-team, All-Pacific Coast Conference centerfielder for the Comets, batting .348 (9th in PCC) in helping the team to the conference pennant. Luna came on strong over the second half of the season (.352 in PCC play) to also gain All-PCC berth at second base for the Knights, while also getting spot duty as a pitcher.

"Perkins is a guy every school seems to want," said Lord. "And because of his strong Christian faith, he wanted to stay in San Diego -- his life is here."

"We'll just put him in centerfield and let him catch everything -- he's crazy-fast."

San Diego Christian plans to play its home games at Alliant International University in Scripps Ranch, which used to field an NCAA Division I program when known as U.S. International. Contingency plans include hosting games at Casino Diamond on the Barona Indian Reservation, the home site for the semi-pro Barona-San Diego Stars.

East County Sports.com
AZUSA (3-24-06) -- Following an NAIA national championship appearance, San Diego Christian College was rewarded for its standout season by grabbing a large share of postseason awards. Included was a coach of the year citation for Hawks mentor KELVIN STARR, who shared the award with Bill Odell of Azusa Pacific.

Starr just completed his fourth season as head coach after serving as an assistant to ART WILMORE, who left to take the reins at crosstown rival Point Loma Nazarene. And Starr has continued to improve the program, averaging exactly 20 victories per season.

Following consecutive 19-16 seasons, including an NCCAA national title in 2004, Starr guided the Hawks to a 20-12 last season, then 22-10 this season, including second-place finishes in both the GSAC regular season and the GSAC conference tournament, ranking 14th in the country.

Meanwhile, junior center ROWAN GRAY, the runner-up in GSAC player of the year voting, was one of two GSAC players tabbed as NAIA first-team All-America honorees.

Gray paced the Hawks by scoring 17.5 points and grabbing 9.7 rebounds per contest. In GSAC play, Gray's numbers were even better at 18.5 points and 10.2 boards, including a .655 shooting percentage -- the second-best in GSAC.

In addition, San Diego Christian demonstrated its continuing quest for excellence in the classroom, as three players -- JEREMY DAY (biology), DANIEL WALL (mathematics) and BRETT TOMPKINS (interdisciplinary studies) -- were given both GSAC regional and NAIA national citations as scholar-athletes.

As a conference, GSAC schools only took seven NAIA scholar-athlete awards in men's basketball, with the Hawks receiving three, Fresno Pacific gaining two, and the remaining nine school claimed the remaining two.

The Blue Raiders lead swelled to 18 points when sophomore forward Lloyd Lewis -- who transferred to Lindsey Wilson from San Diego Christian -- canned one of his game's three three-pointers to give LWC a 60-42 lead at the 13:07 mark.

SDCC went on a 12-3 run to narrow the lead to 63-54 with 8:10 remaining, then pulled to within 68-63 with 5:04 left on two free throws by Rowan Gray. But then the Blue Raiders defense took over the rest of the game, holding San Diego Christian to just one more field goal -- a three-pointer by Sanchez -- for the rest of the game. Lindsey Wilson connected on 13-of-14 free throws down the stretch to ice the first-round win.

Senior forward Stephen Russell pacedLindsey Wilson with 19 points. The Nashville, Tenn., native was 3-of-4 on three-point shots and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. Six of Russell's free throws came inside the game's final 6:30, including four inside the final 44 seconds. Lewis and senior guard Scott Cook each added 13 points. Cook also dished out a game-high nine assists, and Lewis collected a game-high six rebounds.

It was a disapoint effort for San Diego Christian, which reached the semifinals in its onlyother nationals appearance in 2001, which included a second-round upset of national top-ranked Transylvania State (Ky.), 77-67.

Note -- San Diego State, before the school became a major-college program, once played in the NAIA championship contest over three straight seasons (1939-41), winning the title on its third try, 36-32, over Murray State (Ky.).

East County Sports.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- You may never have heard of Lindsey Wilson College, located in the heart of the Bluegrass state in Columbia, Ky. Nicknamed the Blue Raiders, the school is a national power in small-college athletics.

Fortunately for San Diego Christian College, men's basketball is not one of those nationally-recognized programs at LWC, winners of seven NAIA men's soccer crowns over the past decade.

Nevertheless, the teams are seeded virtually evenly with identical 22-9 records and will meet in the opening round of the 69th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship. The 32-team single-elimination tournament will be played March 15-21 at Municipal Auditorium.

The championship game will be televised live nationally on College Sports Television (CSTV).

San Diego Christian will need to rise early when its meets with Lindsey Wilson. The start time will be a crisp 10:45 a.m. start (8:45 a.m. Pacific Time), with the winner probable tangling with second-seeded Louisiana State-Shreveport (28-3), which meet next-to-last seed Southern Polytechnic State University (Ga.) (21-10) in another first-round contest.

The Blue Raiders lost in the semifinals of the Mid-South Conference Tournament, held at the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center, yet still gained an at-large berth. San Diego Christian, which has been in the national rankings all season, took a similar path after falling in the final of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament to Azusa Pacific -- the Cougars are the sixth-seed, yet could meet the Hawks in the semifinals if both team can post three straight victories.

The only other GSAC ballclub to advance to nationals is Vanguard (20-12), which meets Mid-South champion Georgetown College (Ky. (26-7), Only the Mid-South received more NAIA bids (four) than the GSAC.

This will be the Hawks' second NAIA national tournament appearance. In 2001, the school advanced to the tournament's "Fab Four" after winning three straight contests to reach the semifinals. As the 16th seed, they defeated Barber-Scotia (N.C.), 73-59; Transylvania (Ky.), 77-67; and Lubbock Christian (Texas), 75-61; before falling to Science & Arts (Okla.), 99-88.

East County Sports.com
FULLERTON (3-8-06) -- Azusa Pacific responded to prove why the school is among the top programs in almost every sport in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Despite two earlier losses in the regular season, the 6th-ranked Cougars earned yet another GSAC Tournament title by racing past 14th-ranked San Diego Christian, 83-58, in Tuesday's (Mar. 7) title game held at Hope International University. Azusa Pacific has now won the tournament crown seven times in its 13-year history, including four of the past six seasons.

Read what Azusa Pacific wrote on this ballgame.

Azusa Pacific placed four players in double figures, paced by Demario Butler's 15 points, while the Cougars slammed the door on the Hawks' guards to build a 10-point halftime lead, then pulled away with a 47-32 advantage in the second half. The SDCC backcourt managed a mere 18 points, making just 8-of-28 shots without ever going to the foul line.

Center ROWAN GRAY paced San Diego Christian with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds, but Azusa shot 57 percent from the floor to gain the GSAC's top bid to next week's NAIA national championships.

The 25-point decision was San Diego Christian's worst setback since falling to Azusa Pacific by 39 in 2004. It also matches the largest margin of victory in GSAC Tournament title game history. Two years ago, Azusa Pacific topped defending national champion Concordia, 66-41, in the GSAC finale.

The Hawks (22-9) already clinched an at-large berth to the nationals, to be held in Kansas City starting Mar. 15. The conference could receive up to five bids, with Vanguard, Point Loma Nazarene and Biola still in the running. The field of 32 teams will be released Wednesday afternoon.

East County Sports.com
FULLERTON (3-5-06) -- Perhaps the basketball coaches of the Golden State Athletic Conference should re-think their voting.

In a battle among the top two vote-getters for the GSAC player of the year award, it was a clear decision for runner-up ROWAN GRAY of San Diego Christian College. The junior center dominated with game-highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds, propelling the Hawks to the GSAC Tournament championship contest following Saturday's (Mar. 4) 79-74 whipping of Vanguard in the semifinals.

The Hawks will return to Darling Pavilion at Hope International University for the title contest on Tuesday (Mar. 7), meeting top-seeded and 6th-ranked Azusa Pacific at 7:30 p.m. The Cougars ousted Point Loma Nazarene, 74-62, in the nightcap of the doubleheader.

Gray lost the conference award to Vanguard guard HORACE WORMELY, yet Gray won both the individual and team battle as the difference on several fronts for the 14th-ranked Hawks (22-8). Not only did Gray dominate inside to give SDCC nearly double the number of points in the paint, when the Lions attempted to double-team him, Gray was able to find the open guard for the shot to equal his career-best with five assists.

Although Wormely collected team-highs of 17 points and eight assists, he also found trouble against the rugged Hawks defense. The senior transfer from Pasadena City College turned the ball over six times, as SDCC outscored Vanguard, 22-8, on points-off-turnovers.

Meanwhile, the San Diego Christian frontline provided valuable assistance to smother the Lions' forwards. JEREMIAH TRUEMAN came off the bench to register his first-career double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 boards.

In addition, TYLER HAYES responded from a poor outing to score 14 points, while DREW SANCHEZ smoothly operated the offense, collecting 13 points and nine assists, many on inside passes to Gray.

SDCC stormed to a 7-0 lead buildingthe margin to 27-15 lead with 7:51 left in the half when the Lions went on a scoring spree that would bring the lead, as sophomore Greg Gusiff triggered a 15-2 run with a 3-point basket at the 7:06 mark.

The Vanguard seniors took over from there as Wormely scored eight points during the run and All-GSAC Levi Seekins drained the three-pointer that put Vanguard ahead for the first time in the game, 33-31 with 2:37 left in the half. Tim Burnette dropped in the final bucket of the half to stake the Lions a 39-33 cushion heading into the halftime break.

The Lions came out strong by pushing the lead to 15 points just seven minutes into the second half. However, trailing 59-44, the Hawks rattled off 15 straight points to tie the score 59-59 with 8:34 remaining.

Although Brian Roberts nailed a 3-pointer to spot the Lions to a three-point lead, but the Lions could not make that lead stand. The Hawks regained the lead for keeps with a jumper by Jeremiah Trueman at the 6:49 mark, although Vanguard did move back to within a point, 75-74, with 14 seconds left before the Hawks closed out the victory.

Vanguard, which slipped into the NAIA national rankings in 25th place this past week, was limited to just 13-of-33 shooting in the second half while SDCC continued to shoot over 50 percent from the floor in both halves.

Despite the loss, Vanguard (20-12) is still expected to gain a berth to the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City. Because of power rating and records, San Diego Christian and Azusa Pacific are guaranteed berths, but a higher seed could pave the way for either team to go deep into the 32-team event.

Azusa Pacific took the GSAC regular-season title by two games over the Hawks, but SDCC captured both regular season meetings, taking a 62-59 decision in Azusa on Jan. 17, then barely escaped with a 69-68 win at Ryan Center on Feb. 18. It was the Hawks' first-ever sweep of the Cougars.

This will be San Diego Christian's first GSAC Tournament championship game appearance, although the Hawks once played for the NAIA District title as an independent, falling to Vanguard (then known as Southern California College) during the 1989-90 season. Later that season, SDCC (then Christian Heritage College) took the first of its four NCCAA national crowns.

Hawks guard Tyler Hayes races through a parade of fellow students in celebration of his game-winning shot to nip Concordia, 80-79, in Thursday's GSAC Tournament opener (Photo by Jackie Armstrong)

Hayes' forgetful outing is unforgettable

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (3-3-06) -- TYLER HAYES, the second-leading scorer for 14th-ranked San Diego Christian College, was performing nowhere near his capabilities.

"I was in foul trouble early, so I was on the bench all game," noted Hayes. "I guess I only played 10 or 11 minutes all night."

However, Hayes was there exactly when the Hawks needed him Thursday (Mar. 2) night. Accepting a feed from ROWAN GRAY, Hayes nailed a 3-point shot with 18 seconds remaining, then the team survived a last-second shot to outlast visiting Concordia, 80-79, in the opening round of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament at Ryan Center.

Until his final shot, Hayes, who ranks 18th among the 11 GSAC schools with a 13.4 scoring average, had only scored a single basket against the pressure defense of the Eagles.

"All I did was set up and made two shots at the end -- Rowan gave me perfect passes both times," added Hayes. "All of our teammates trust each other, and Rowan trusted I would hit it."

Hayes, the runner-up in GSAC player of the year voting, received the ball four feet to the side of the basket, but too close to the end line to get a clean look.

"Besides, I was off-balance and not in the best shooting position," said Gray, one of five Hawks to score in double figures with 15 points. "I had to make a choice, but making the pass was one of my easiest decisions."

Concordia had two chances to pull out a game which they led 79-74 with 2:13 remaining, after being down as many as 10 points in the first half and nine down with 12 minutes to play.

However, LAWRENCE WALKER and DREW SANCHEZ tipped a pass away, leading to a wild scramble on the floor in front of the Concordia bench while seconds ticked away. Sanchez actually recovered the ball and attempt to call timeout, but the officials ruled Gray had also touched the ball while his foot was on the endline with two seconds to go.

"Drew had the ball and tried to call time, but we were out of timeouts," noted Gray. "We were fortunate the referee didn't call timeout."

The Eagles then tried to inbound the ball to one of three shooters spotting-up along the 3-point arc, but they could only find center Levi Luster open some 15 feet away from the basket -- well out of his shooting zone. His shot at the buzzer was well short.

Concordia also had a chance to put San Diego Christian away with 1:01 left. After Hayes finally hit his first shot -- a trey -- to cut the Eagles' advantage to 79-77, guard Victor Nance cleanly beat his defender and drove the lane for a layin, only to see his shot rejected from behind on a dramatic block by Gray to give the crowd optimism for the late comeback.

"We've been doing that all season," added Gray. "Either way, we still have to play no matter what the score was - we just keep fighting and working hard."

Gray and JEREMIAH TRUEMAN each were credited with three blocks, while intimidating several others. Both players also paced both sides with seven rebounds each. Meanwhile, the pair used their size advantage to score an array of layins after Hawks guards successfully lobbed the ball to the block all contest. Sanchez led the parade with seven assists.

However, when Concordia turned up the pressure after trailing 61-52, the Hawks started turning the ball over despite shooting a sizzling 61 percent from the floor.

"Concordia played great pressure defense," said Hawks coach KELVIN STARR. "It's kept them in games all season and was the reason they beat us here earlier this year."

The Eagles were the only visiting team to win in Ryan Center all season, as the Hawks avenged the setback to finish 14-1 at home. SDCC (21-8 overall) have now won seven of its last 10 ballgames, while Concordia (17-14) is doubtful for an NAIA national tournament berth with the loss.

Following the 15 points each by Gray and Sanchez, LAWRENCE WALKER was next with 13 points and five assists, BRETT TOMPKINS added 11 from off the bench, while Trueman had 10 points.

"There have been games this year when Tyler has needed to pick me up when I was in foul trouble," said Walker. "I was glad to be the one to pick someone up. It was a team effort, just like we've been doing it all year."

For Concordia, Luster finished with a game-best 23 points, while Kyle Huggett had 19 points and six boards.

In the GSAC Tournament, all four home teams came out victorious, so the second-seeded Hawks will meet No. 3-seed Vanguard in the first game of Saturday's (Mar. 4) GSAC semifinals, starting at 5:30 p.m. at Hope International University in Fullerton. The Vanguards scored 20 points in overtime to down Westmont, 95-87.

In the other side of the draw, its top-seeded and No. 6 ranked Azusa Pacific -- a 69-61 victor over Cal Baptist -- is meeting fourth-seeded Point Loma Nazarene. The Sea Lions nipped Biola, 81-76.

East County Sports.com
FRESNO (2-26-06) -- Facing the most difficult segment of its schedule, Fresno Pacific was first swamped by Azusa Pacific, which scored the game's first 24 straight points before the Sunbirds answered 11 minutes into the game.

Ouch.

In order to take out its frustrations, Fresno Pacific made some adjustments on defense and stole a ballgame from 13th-ranked San Diego Christian College.

After catching the visiting Hawks at 48-all at the midway mark of the second half, the Sunbirds outscored SDCC by a 16-9 count to secure a surprising 64-57 victory at FPU's Special Events Center. The victory gave Azusa Pacific its fourth consecutive Golden State Athletic Conference regular season title.

The Sunbirds forced turnovers at twice the rate of the Hawks, 20-10, securing a series of easy transition shots. And then you throw in 26 free throw attempts to just 10 for San Diego Christian.

"I'm so proud of our guys, especially the seniors," said FPU head coach Clark Sheehy. "This is a great win for them against a quality opponent. We struggled a bit in the first half, but we strung together some good possessions in the second half and made free throws down the stretch."

A free throw by San Diego Christian center ROWAN GRAY with 91 seconds to play tied the game at 57-57. It turned out to be the Hawks' final point of the evening.

A Rudy Lopez reverse layup, set up by a perfect lob pass by Calderon, put FPU up by a pair 59-57. Lopez late drained a pair of free throws with 44.7 left to give the Sunbirds a a 4-point cushion.

The Hawks rimmed a 3-point attempt on each of their final two possessions then fouled on the rebound. Jordan Beshore made one of two with 31 seconds to play and Lesego Molebatsi iced it with a pair with just nine seconds left on the clock.

TYLER HAYES led the Hawks (19-8, 13-6) with 13 points. Gray finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while DREW SANCHEZ chipped in with 11 points.

The win lifts Fresno Pacific into an eight-place tie with The Master's and California Baptist. All three have identical 7-12 GSAC records and one game remaining. Only one team will claim the eighth and final postseason berth.

The Sunbirds hold the tie-break advantage over The Master's (by virtue of a 2-0 sweep this season), but were swept by the Lancers. For FPU to make the GSAC postseason tournament, they need a victory over winless Hope International on Monday night combined with a California Baptist loss.

The Hawks finish the regular season at home to The Master's at Ryan Center, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Women
Fresno Pacific 78, San Diego Christian 36 -- Powered for double figure scoring from seniors Denise Fast (13 points), Danielle Prusinskas (11) and Molly McAmis (11), the Sunbirds swamped visiting San Diego Christian, 78-36, in GSAC action.

FPU roared out to an 18-2 start and led 36-11 after 20 minutes of play. It was more of the same in the second half, as the Sunbirds outscored the Hawks, 42-25.

Jaime Geagel and Amy Showers led the Hawks. Both scored 10 points. Geagel led all players with 14 rebounds.

By Gary Pine
Courtesy APU Media Relations Dept.
AZUSA (2-22-06) -- Any lingering doubts, fears or -- depending on your perspective -- hopes of Azusa Pacific’s demise were obliterated Tuesday (Feb. 21) in just 11 minutes.

The Cougars scored the game’s first 24 points, holding Fresno Pacific without a field goal for nearly 11 minutes, and cruised on in for a 90-65 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over the Sunbirds. The convincing win not only erases the memory of Saturday’s gut-wrenching loss at San Diego Christian but it also clinches at least a share of the Cougars’ fourth straight GSAC championship and their 13th in the past 14 years.

The Hawks, who were idle, trail by 1.5 games with two contests remaining, while Azusa Pacific gets the bye this weekend and has one game left.

Five different Cougars scored in double figures. Demario Butler scored 16, and Josh Reisman bounced back from the SDCC contest with an all-around performance tonight of 13 points, five assists, four rebounds, a pair of steals and even a blocked shot from the 6-foot-1 senior guard.

Hawks center Rowan Gray, surrounded by all five Westmont players, goes high for the slam to lead San Diego Christian past the Warriors. (Photo by Keith Barnes)

Gray's big plays on offense and defense
snares victory in final seconds for 16th-ranked Hawks
San Diego Christian again defeats No. 3 Azusa Pacific

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-19-06) -- Anyone who doubted who the player of the year in the Golden State Athletic Conference is this season should now have all of their questions answered after San Diego Christian College center ROWAN GRAY delivered a pair of game-winning plays in the final seconds Saturday (Feb. 18), sending the No. 16 Hawks past third-ranked Azusa Pacific, 69-68, in another thriller at Ryan Center.

Gray came up with a forced turnover with eight seconds remaining, then was fouled on offense with one second left on the clock, sinking a pair of free throws to give the Hawks their first-ever season sweep of the Cougars.

"Rowan solidified that he is the player of the year -- that is a fact," noted SDCC coach KELVIN STARR. "He truly is a leader and made two huge plays for us in order to beat Azusa."

Tied at 68-all, Azusa guard Josh Reisman sank the first of two foul shots with 37 seconds left. He missed the second, as Hawks guard LAWRENCE WALKER raced down the court, but missed a mid-range jumper.

Cougars center Tristan King grabbed the rebound and quickly passed to Reisman, with Azusa Pacific in position to run out the clock or get fouled. Neither happened.

"He started to back-dribble toward me, trying to give me my fifth foul," noted Gray. "But he put his foot on the (side) line and the ref was right on it."

Following a timeout by Starr, Walker was given what seemed to be permission to attempt the game-winning shot, driving the lane with the ball. However, there was much more to the game plan.

"Lawrence drew three defenders towards him, so he dished to me," noted Gray. "If they didn't foul me, I had an easy slam dunk, but he pulled me down."

Azusa's Brice Prather had little choice -- foul or lose anyway.

"I've never been in a situation like that before," added Gray as he stepped to the foul line for the two biggest free throws of his collegiate career. "It's usually a point guard or a shooting guard who shoots in these situations, not a center like me."

Nevertheless, Gray calmly sank both shots, as a 60-foot desperation shot by Azusa never came close to give the Hawks (19-7 overall, 13-5 GSAC) the victory over the conference leaders.

The triumph mathematically clinches a first-round home game in the GSAC Tournament for the Hawks, to be played Thurs., March 2 at 7:30 p.m. The semifinals (Sat., March 4) and final (Tue., March 7) will be contested at Hope International University in Fullerton.

The Cougars held a 9-point first-half lead, but SDCC ran off nine straight points to tie the game at 26-all as Gray hit 5-of-6 foul shots, then passed for a pair of assists on baskets by LUKE HENDERSON during the run.

Henderson later was accidentally kicked in the face while scrambling for a loose ball, yet returned to the contest with bandages on his chin and eyebrow, which were both bleeding following the chase for the basketball. Henderson ranked second on the Hawks with 10 points.

Meanwhile, Azusa Pacific couldn't do much of anything to slow Gray except to foul, as the Aussie drained 15-of-19 from the foul line as part of his game-high 29 points. Gray also was the game's leader in rebounding (10), assists (5) and steals (3) to complete his all-around effort.

"Rowan had an unbelievable game," added Starr. "You couldn't ask for more from any of your players."

Walker aided the balanced scoring attack with nine, while DREW SANCHEZ and TYLER HAYES added eight points each.

Demario Bulter paced the Cougars (23-5, 14-4) with team-highs of 14 points and seven boards, while Reisman added 11 points. Included was a short jumper by Butler to tie the score at 67-all with 1:06 remaining before Reisman hit his foul shot for a short-lived lead.

While most of the conference has three regular-season games remaining, San Diego Christian has just two, finishing the season next Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Fresno Pacific, then hosts The Masters in the finale on Mon., Feb. 27, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Notes -- The Hawks are now 11-1 at home this season... SDCC has now swept both Azusa Pacific and Point Loma Nazarene for the first time ever this season... Among the GSAC leaders, Gray ranked third in scoring (17.3), second in rebounding (9.6), second in shooting (66.3 percent), and sixth in blocked shots (21 rejections).

Women
Azusa Pacific 81, San Diego Christian 69 -- The 17th-ranked Eagles completed a 3-0 week to move into sole possession of second place in the GSAC standings after pulling away to down the Hawks (2-23, 0-17).

Lindsey West paced Biola (20-7, 12-5) with 29 points and 15 rebounds, while Alyssa Ferdaszewski added 16 points and 10 boards to also complete a double-double.

SDCC saw AMY SHOWERS score her GSAC season-best with 25 points. JAIME GEAGEL added 14 points, while CHARINA MOORE and ALISA ANDERSON had 13 points each.

Despite Biola's victory, Vanguard University, the NAIA's top-ranked team, clinched the conference title on Thursday after downing Fresno Pacific. The Lions had a bye on Saturday.

East County Sports.com
LA MIRADA (2-17-06) -- For more than a month, 16th-ranked San Diego Christian College was eyeing Saturday's showdown with No. 3 Azusa Pacific, hopeful someone could upset the Cougars so the Hawks could also defeat them and gain a share of the Golden State Athletic Conference lead.

On Tuesday (Feb. 14), that wish came true -- almost.

Point Loma Nazarene traveled to Azusa and posted the needed upset in a shocking 21-point romp, 76-55. However, the Hawks seemingly forgot they needed to win, too, instead falling to host Biola, 73-65, to remain two full games back with three ballgames to play.

Biola junior forward Spencer Foster led all scorers with 28 points to go with a team-high seven rebounds. Foster hit 11-of-19 from the floor, which included a pair of triples and 4-for-5 at the foul line to help the Eagles pull to within a game of a home match in the first round of the GSAC playoffs.

Biola (17-9, 9-7 GSAC) made it interesting down the stretch with their 19-for-30 free throw shooting performance, but sophomore Danny Jones played huge off the bench to grab several key offensive rebounds in the final minute that allowed the Eagles to keep the ball out of the Hawks' grasp.

Jones finished the night as the only other Eagle in double figures with 10 points while all five of his rebounds were on the offensive. Compare that to San Diego Christian (18-7, 12-5), which recorded just four offensive boards all night.

Center Rowan Gray led the charge for SDCC (18-7, 12-5) with his 22 points and game-high 13 rebounds, while Tyler Hayes had five three's off the bench as part of his 16 points.

Women
Courtesy Biola Media Relations
LA MIRADA (2-17-06) -- Biola University (9-16 overall, 5-11 GSAC) got back into the win column on Thursday (Feb. 16) night as they beat up on the Lady Hawks of San Diego Christian, 85-41. The Lady Eagles came out firing and did not slow down the rest of the way as they cruised to a 44-point victory.

Biola dominated the game on offense, shooting a scorching 54.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arch. On the other hand, the Hawks could not seem to get things going as they made only 18.5 percent of their field goals including just 2-of-24 from long range.

All the players who suited up for the Eagles scored at least once. The team was led by Linda Oguga who had a game-high 21 points and added seven rebounds in only 13 minutes. Megann Alberts also had a solid performance as she chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds. Rachel Dulin and Mandi Englad also reached double figures, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Hawks (2-23, 0-17 GSAC) were led by Jaime Geagal who had 18 points and eight rebounds. Charina Moore did her part as she added a game high 11 boards.

San Diego Christian center Rowan Gray leaps high for the rebound to pace the Hawks past host Hope International. Gray was just named Golden State Athletic Conference player of the week covering the Feb. 6-11 time period. (Photo by Jackie Armstrong)

SDCC wins despite hot Royals shooting

East County Sports.com
FULLERTON (2-15-06) -- Hope International University seemed to make almost every shot they took in the first half Tuesday (Feb. 14) against No. 23 San Diego Christian College. The Royals nailed 17-of-28 shots from the floor, including 8-of-15 from beyond the arc for 3-point baskets.

Nevertheless, the Hawks still easily defeated Hope, 80-58, in a Golden State Athletic Conference contest at Darling Pavilion.

After a blistering first half, SDCC turned on the defense, as Hope completely turned faced -- or got faced -- scoring a mere 12 points on 3-for-25 shooting.

The Royals never trailed in the first 20 minutes of play, opening the game on a 5-0 run. Although the Hawks knotted the game at 7-all, Hope pushed its lead to 17-9 over the next three minutes. During that 10-2 run, five different players scored for the Royals, mounting a 46-37 halftime lead.

Unfortunately for the Royals, their hot shooting cooled considerably in the second half.

After a series of missed jump shots, the Hawks' Drew Sanchez, who scored a game-high 24 points, hit a baseline three-pointer to give San Diego Christian its first lead of the ballgame. They would never trail again.

The Royals had open looks but couldn't capitalize on them. In contrast, the Hawks connected on its final 16-of-31 shots to complete the rally.

San Diego Christian (18-6, 12-4 GSAC) was led by GSAC Player of the Week Rowan Gray, as the center tallied 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Women
Hope International 66, San Diego Christian 47 -- The host Royals held San Diego Christian to 25-percent shooting from the field (13-of-52) and 17-percent shooting from beyond the arc (4-of-24) en route to a victory at Darling Pavilion. The win was the HIU's seventh consecutive GSAC victory and the Hawks’ 16th consecutive conference loss.

Freshman forward Veronica Youman had her best game of the season, leading the Royals in both points (15) and rebounds (12) in 21 minutes of play. Carly Andrews, the GSAC Player of the Week, added 14 points, six boards, and four assists.

Leading 19-18 with just over four minutes to play in the first half, the Royals (17-8, 9-6) nailed four consecutive three-point baskets to extend its lead to 10 points.

For the Hawks (2-22, 0-16), AMY SHOWERS scored a game-high 20 points, while JAMIE GEAGEL registered 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The crowd of more than 1,500 fans -- the largest since installation of new permanent bleachers at Ryan Center -- enjoyed the homecoming victory,

"My assistant coach and I shot about 200 threes on Friday, so I was ready," noted Wall. "And he said if I beat him, he'd buy me dinner, but I didn't."

Fortunately, Wall came through when it really counted with his season-high scoring performance, missing just once from distance to break open the contest by pushing the lead into double digits in the second half.

"Perhaps he'll buy me dinner now," joked Wall, who moments later learned no such prize would be given -- he needs to beat his coach, not just Westmont. Not that any of his teammates are complaining.

San Diego Christian (17-6 overall, 1104 GSAC) now holds sole possession of second place, one game better than both Westmont (17-8, 10-5) and Vanguard.

The Hawks are also two games behind No. 3 Azusa Pacifiic heading into the final two weeks of the season, with the Cougars slated to visit Ryan Center next Saturday (Feb. 19).

LAWRENCE WALKER added 14 points and four assists, while DREW SANCHEZ posted nine assists. The Warriors were led by Santiago Aguirre, who collected 16 points and 16 boards.

Women
Westmont 64, San Diego Christian 53 -- Rising an emotional wave after snapping a 16-game losing streak 48 hours earlier, San Diego Christian College jumped to a quick lead and were on track to post its first Golden State Athletic Conference victory of the season. However, the Warriors came back over the final 12 minutes to survive the Hawks' upset bid.

The Hawks, playing in their third game of the week, tired on defense, gaining just one steal all contest, as Westmont posted just seven turnovers to overcome a sluggish 37 percent shooting performance.

Ali Mooty paced the Warriors (12-12 overall, 7-8 GSAC) with 18 points, while Megan Fate and Sara Uhlman added 14 points each.

SDCC (2-21, 0-15) received 13 points from both AMY SHOWERS and JAIME GEAGEL, while ALISA ANDERSON added 10 points, including a pair of treys.

The Hawks limited Westmont to just 20 percent shooting in the first half, building a 26-21 lead with their defense. But the Warriors found their touch in the second half, making 17-of-30 shots (57 percent) after the intermission to turn the tables.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-10-06) -- Backed by a trio of individual record performances, San Diego Christian College snapped its 16-game losing streak in women's basketball after downing La Sierra University, 82-52, Thursday (Feb. 9) night at Ryan Center.

JAIME GEAGEL, the team's scoring leader, powered the Hawks with a career-high 26 point, hitting 11-of-20 shots, while also adding nine rebounds and five assists. Meanwhile, SDCC teammates LeRAYA WILSON and CHARINA MOORE also posted career bests.

Wilson's marker went for 16 points, finishing with her second double-double of the season as she also grabbed 16 rebounds. Moore had her collegiate best with 14 points, while adding four blocks

Meanwhile, ALISA ANDERSON, although it wasn't an individual career best, still supplied 16 points, as the Hawks (2-20 overall) doubled their 15-point halftime lead after posting a 40-27 lead at the break. La Sierra, a Seventh-Day Adventist university located in Riverside, saw its Golden Eagles fall to 6-15 for the season despite 23 points by Kari Cobb.

East County Sports.com
RIVERSIDE (2-8-06) -- San Diego Christian College center ROWAN GRAY has been almost unstoppable since Golden State Athletic Conference began. The import from Australia registered team highs of 18 points and five rebounds Tuesday (Feb. 7), while JEREMY DAY came off the bench to hit 6-of-10 shots for 14 points, powering the 22nd-ranked Hawks to a big second half in a 70-61 triumph over Cal Baptist at Van Dyne Gymnasium.

Trailng 33-30 at the intermission, Gray scored the go-ahead layin in the early moments of the second half, as the Hawks raced to a 13-2 run to eventually mount a 10-point lead. San Diego Christian shot a sizzling 70 percent (14-for-20) in the final 20 minutes, putting away from a Lancers side which forced overtime in the teams' first meeting last month.

JEREMIAH TRUEMAN also added four points to the opening streak of the second half, as San Diego Christian capitalized on 17 turnovers by Cal Baptist while committing only nine in the win.

The victory kept the Hawks (16-6 overall, 10-4 GSAC) in a second-place deadlock with 12th-ranked Westmont, although the Warriors survived a 67-65 decision over visiting Concordia. Meanwhile, Vanguard fell out of the three-way tie after falling in overtime to Point Loma Nazarene, 84-77, in Costa Mesa.

San Diego Christian returns to action Saturday (Feb. 11), by hosting Westmont in the school's annual Homecoming contest at 7:30 p.m.

Women
Cal Baptist 75, San Diego Christian 52 -- Jessica Fisiikava scored a game and career highs with 23 points to lift the Lancers to a 75-52 GSAC win over the Hawks (1-20, 0-14). The win snaps the Lancers' 3-game losing skid as they improve to 12-12 overall, 6-8.

It was the first time in 14 days the Lancers played in front of their home crowd, and they relished the opportunity-- especially Fisiikava, who two weeks ago scored a then career-high 21 points in a 23-point win over Biola.

On Tuesday (Feb. 7), Fisiikava was two better as she led four Lancers in double-figures. Fisiikava scored 17 of her 23 and hit all five of her 3-pointers in the first half when the Lancers did most of their damage to mount a 39-18 intermission lead.

JAIME GEAGEL paced the Hawks with 18 points, while AMY SHOWERS scored 16 points.

California Baptist scored the first 12 points of the game and never trailed. Nicole Davis and Erin Greenberg hit back-to-back treys to cap the opening spurt. The Lancers led 23-11 with 7:53 left in the half when Fisiikava went to work.

The Hawks gets a strong opportunity to get back into the victory column when they host La Sierra University on Thursday (Feb. 9) at 7 p.m., then return to GSAC action on Saturday (Feb. 11) against Westmont for Homecoming.

San Diego Christian College center Rowan Gray (10) springs over the Point Loma Nazarene defense for two points in a recent game. Gray ranks among the GSAC leaders in both scoring (16.5 average) and rebounding (9.3 avg.). (Photo by Jackie Armstrong)

By Jeremiah Wood
Courtesy of PLNU Media Relations
POINT LOMA (2-5-06) -- San Diego Christian guard TYLER HAYES snapped out of a mild shooting slump with his biggest basket of the season Saturday (Feb. 4). Hayes capped off a 32-point outing by draining a 3-pointer with two seconds left, handing Point Loma Nazarene a heartbreakering 83-82 loss at Golden Gymnasium.

The Sea Lions led 79-71 with four minutes to play, but allowed the 22nd-ranked Hawks to close out the game on a 12-3 run. John Clarke, playing in his second game back from a leg injury that sidelined him for a month, missed three free throws in the final 23 seconds to open the door for SDCC (15-6 overall, 9-4 Golden State Athletic Conference)..

The Sea Lions seemed in good shape with 11 seconds left, up 81-80 with possession, but the Hawks' DREW SANCHEZ fouled Clarke with five seconds left. After hitting the first free throw, Clarke missed the second giving the Hawks the chance to get the ball in the hands of Hayes. Hayes, a senior who averages just over 13 points per game, had a career night, going 13-of-23 from the field and sinking six treys.

It was a hard fought game throughout, with 19 lead changes. The game went back and forth in the first half with San Diego Christian taking a 36-35 lead into the locker room. The Sea Lions took the lead right back at the beginning of the second half with a basket by Tim Kruge.

PLNU (12-8, 7-6) slowly began to pull away in the second half and two straight baskets by Finis Jones gave the Sea Lions their largest lead, 70-61 with 10:18 left. The Hawks chipped away at that lead before the Sea Lions built up the 8-point lead with four minutes to play.

San Diego Christian went on a 7-0 run from that point before Casey Ortiz sank two free throws with 38 seconds left to give PLNU an 81-78 lead. Tim Kruge stole the ball on the Hawks next possession, but the Sea Lions missed a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left that could have made it a two-possession game.

Sanchez drove for a layup with 11 seconds left to cut the lead to one before Clarke missed his final free throw that ultimately sealed the Sea Lions' fate and gave Hayes the opportunity to knock down his final shot. A desperation half-court shot by Clarke bounced off the backboard, leaving the large home crowd standing in shoc as they watched the Hawks fans storm the court and celebrate with their team.

The Sea Lions got big performances from Xavi Lopez, Matt Benson, and Kruge in a losing cause. Lopez scored 16 on 7-of-12 shooting. Benson led the team with 21 points and knocked down four threes, while Kruge added 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting.

The Hawks were led by Hayes' 32 but also got big games from center ROWAN GRAY (15 pts, 8 rebs) and guard LAWRENCE WALKER (16 pts).

The Hawks remained in a three-way tie for second place in the GSAC after Westmont and Vanguard both won tonight.

Women
Point Loma Nazarene 71, San Diego Christian 44 -- The 18th-ranked Sea Lions (16-5, 10-3) ran their win streak to six after whipping the Hawks in the first game of a Golden State Athletic Conference doubleheader at Golden Gymnasium.

PLNU guard Kati Hilbelink sunk a three-pointer to start Saturday's scoring and the team never looked back, maintaining its second place positionin GSAC. The Sea Lions out-shot the Hawks, 57.7 to 22.2 pervent, in the first half, stretching their lead to as much as 28 before taking a 38-12 advantage into the break.

Hilbelink made 7-of-9 from the field, including four treys, for her team-high 18 points. Angela Manjarrez poured in 12 with Brittney Dove adding 10 points.

Amy Showers and Jaime Geagel scored 19 and 17 respectively for San Diego Christian (1-19, 0-13).

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-1-06) -- Failing to win on the road in the Golden State Athletic Conference is hardly an embarrassment. However, failing to come out with a victory at home could become a recipe for disaster.

Playing the second of only three contests at Ryan Center during a 10-game, 31-day stretch, a key opportunity for 12th-ranked San Diego Christian College to stay in the hunt for the GSAC title was wasted after falling to Concordia, 86-75, Tuesday (Jan. 31) night.

The loss snapped the school's 10-game, home-court winning streak and was its third straight loss overall.

Hawks center ROWAN GRAY continues to be a force underneath with a game-hgih 24 points plus 12 rebounds. However, the backcourt of the Eagles outgunned the locals to build a double-digit lead in the second half, also winning the turnover battle, 20-9.

Joe Roberson then fired at an 11-for-12 clip at the foul line, most coming in the final minutes when SDCC fouled to try to stay in the ballgame. Roberson paced Concordia with 17 points, as four of five Eagles starters scored in double figures.

TYLER HAYES added 16 points and JEREMIAN TRUEMAN came off the bench for 14 points for San Diego Christian. Trueman, a freshman, formerly played for the New Zealand U-19 national team, which participated at the 2005 International Sports Invitational in San Diego last June.

SDCC remains in a second-place tie with No. 20 Westmont after the Warriors were clobbered by GSAC-leading Azusa Pacific. The 5th-ranked Cougars romped to a 94-68 triumph in the NAIA Top 25 showdown. Meanwhile, Vanguard also gained a share of second place after dumping Biola, 67-58.

The Hawks, Westmont and Vanguard are now each 8-4 in the GSAC, two full games behind Azusa Pacific with eight contests remaining.

San Diego Christian returns to action Satuday (Feb. 4), heading crosstown to the beach to meet local rival Point Loma Nazarene at 7:30 p.m. (women's game at 5:30 p.m.). LIVE STAT-CAST HERE

Women
Concordia 59, San Diego Christian 43 -- Savanna Anderson tallied a game-high 14 points, while Kristine Jessen added 13, leading the visiting Eagles to a GSAC victory at Ryan Center.

The Hawks several bench players receive extensive minutes in preparations for next season, as EDEN GRAHAM grabbed a career-high six rebounds, matching JAIME GEAGLE for team honors on the boards.

AMY SHOWERS was the team's leading scorer with 13, while ALISA ANDERSON and Geagle added 11 each.

East County Sports.com
COSTA MESA (1-29-06) -- It was quite a week if you're part of the Vanguard University basketball program. Following an upset of No. 2 Azusa Pacific earlier in the week, the Lions took another step at moving into the national rankings up overwhelming No. 12 San Diego Christian College, 60-53, Saturday (Jan. 28) in Golden State Athletic Conference action.

The Lions trailed over the first 10 minutes, but outscored the Hawks, 20-9, leading up to halftime for a 29-20 advantage.

San Diego Christian twice cut the margin to four on baskets by DREW SANCHEZ, but Vanguard pulled ahead by double digits on outside jumpers by Levi Seekins, who scored a game-high 17 points for the Lions.

TYLER HAYES, who didn't start for only the second time all season, still paced SDCC wirh 16 points, while center ROWAN GRAY added 10 points and a game-best seven rebounds.

Shooting from beyond the arc proved to be the difference, as Vanguard hit 11 trets in 26 attempts, while the Hawks were a mere 4-for-16 (25 percent) in falling in back-to-back contests for the first time all season.

Vanguard, already listed among the NAIA honorable mention,m figure to crack the Top 25 this week. The Hawks entered the week at their high-water mark of the season at No. 12.

Women
Vanguard 94, San Diego Christian 39 -- The undefeated and top-ranked Lions improved to 18-0 with an easy GSAC win over the visiting Hawks.

ALISA ANDERSON scored the first two field goals of the game to give San Diego Christian a short-lived 4-0 lead, as the Lions pounced back with nine straight points en route to a 40-15 haldtime lead despite shooting just 37 percent of the field, instead taking advamtage of 19 Hawks turnobers.

Junior All-American Kelly Schmidt led the Lions offensive attack with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field. AMY SHOWERS and Anderson topped SDCC (1-17 overall) with 15 and 14 points, respectively, as Showers sank five treys for the visitors.

East County Sports.com
SANTA CLARITA (1-25-06) -- What a break for the 15th-ranked San Diego Christian College Hawks. Moments after dropping a 63-57 decision to The Master's College, the team learned that No. 2Azusa Pacific, the team they shared the Golden State Athletic Conference lead with, also lost after host Vanguard nipped the Cougars in overtime, 81-80.

Indeed, winning on the road in the GSAC is difficult, yet the news made the nearly 3-hour drive home from Bross Gym a touch more tolerable.

Junior guard Ryan Read scored 14 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, including both a 3-point basket and a traditional 3-point play in the opening minute following the intermission to turn a 27-24 SDCC lead into a 28-27 advantage for TMC.

Hawks center ROWAY GRAY posted 22 points and 10 rebounds, but the back-court for SDCC was shutdown, shooting a combined 6-for-20 from the floor.

DREW SANCHEZ (8 points) hit a jumper for a 47-45 Hawks lead with 8:32 remaining. But the Mustangs took over down the stretch despite the absence of Giovanni St. Amant, the conference's leading scorer.

After the Hawks ran off seven straight points to take an 11-4 lead, The Master's lost St. Amant just 3:23 into the ballgame. There was no report on why St. Amant left the contest.

WOMEN
The Master's 80, San Diego Christian 59 -- The Mustangs (15-4 overall, 7-3 Golden State Athletic Conference) mounted an early 32-10 lead en route to gaining a share of seocnd place in the GSAC.

Kinsley Mittel led all scorers with 25 points, going 8-13 from the floor, including 4-6 from the arc. Angela Gimeno complemented the TMC attack with 11 points, while Courtney Jackson added 10 points and a game-high 9 rebounds.

For SDCC (1-16, 0-10), JAIME GEAGEL scored 18 points, LeRAYA WILSON had 12, while ALISA ANDERSON and AMY SHOWERS each collected 11.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-22-06) -- By the time LUKE HENDERSON dropped a mid-range jump shot to give San Diego Christian College a comfortable 22-point lead with 8:10 remaining, the Hawks were secure they had regained a share of first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Except someone forgot to tell visiting Fresno Pacific University.

The Sunbirds trimmed a 60-38 deficit into a ballgame at 70-68 with 10 seconds remaining. However, Hawks center ROWAN GRAY hit a foul shot with one second left as San Diego Christian survived to post a 71-68 triumph Saturday (Jan. 21) afternoon at Ryan Center.

"We just quit playing -- we can't put people away," noted SDCC coach KELVIN STARR. "We played pretty well for 30 minutes, so at least we know what we need to work on, which is good for us."

TYLER HAYES earned a nomination for GSAC and NAIA player of the week honors following another sparkling performance. After scoring 19 points to help the Hawks down No. 2 Azusa Pacific earlier in the week, the senior from Bend, Ore., collected 25 more points to build a huge lead over Fresno Pacific.

"It was a good win and we won -- that was the key," said Hayes, who dropped seven treys and didn't commit a turnover. "I don't care how we win as long as we win the championship -- both the GSAC and the NAIA."

Hayes scored 16 of his points in the first half, lifting the Hawks to a 40-24 halftime advantage. Gray added 11 of his 13 points in the opening 20 minutes, too, also adding 10 rebounds to complete his double-double.

"Tyler shot the ball well -- we won the game for us," added Starr. "And Rowan is Rowan -- he's hard for a lot of teams to stop."

Hayes now leads the Hawks with a 16.4 scoring average, ranking sixth among all GSAC scorers. Gray also ranked among the conference's top 10 scorers, while moving up to third in rebounding.

LAWERENCE WALKER and DREW SANCHEZ added nine points each for the Hawks, while JEREMIAH TRUEMAN was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor for his six points.

Fresno Pacific came back on the scoring of Lesego Molebatsi (22 points) and Rudy Lopez (20), the second-best GSAC scoring tandem behind a pair of players from The Master's College. Molebatsi scored 11 points over the final eight minutes, including a foul shot with 0:10 left to cut the lead to two.

San Diego Christian regains its share of the GSAC lead with idle Fresno Pacific with 8-1 records, while third-place Westmont fell to 7-3 (14-6 overall) after dropping an 81-74 decision at Point Loma Nazarene.

Women
Fresno Pacific 70, San Diego Christian 64 -- The Hawks' best opportunity for a Golden State Athletic Conference victory passed after the Sunbirds nailed 9-for-12 foul shots over the final 94 seconds to gain the road victory at Ryan Center.

Fresno Pacific (5-13 overall, 1-8 GSAC) held a slim 29-27 halftime lead, but San Diego Christian could never overtake the Sunbirds, who made all but two of their second-half baskets from 3-point range. Brooke Stanley led the backcourt gunners with seven of the team's 12 treys, finishing with a game-best 27 points, while teammate Denise Fast knocked down four treys en route to a 26-point effort.

San Diego Christian guard JAIME GEAGEL drained 11-of-16 shots to pace the Hawks (1-15, 0-9) with 29 points. She also matched teammate ALISA ANDERSON with five assists.

AMY SHOWERS posted 12 points for the Hawks, LeRAYA WILSON tallied 10, while Anderson had nine.

It was one of the top shooting efforts by SDCC all season at an even 50 percent (24-for-48), but FPU sank 18-of-21 from the foul line to make-up the scoring difference.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-20-06) -- The San Diego Christian College men's basketball team both gained and lost all in the same day Thursday (Jan. 19).

Following their victory over No. 2 Azusa Pacific earlier in the week, the Hawks returned to the main portion of the NAIA national basketball rankings, leaping from among the honorable mention to 15th place this week.

However, the team's share of the lead in the Golden State Athletic Conference went by the wayside for the moment. While San Diego Christian had a bye last night, co-leading Azusa Pacific moved a half-game in front following the Cougars' 75-61 triumph over Fresno Pacific -- the Sunbirds continue their roadtrip with a 4:30 p.m. contest Saturday with the Hawks at Ryan Center.

Despite falling to the Hawks, Azusa Pacific maintained its lofty ranking at the No. 2 spot, while fellow GSAC member Biola slipped a notch to 20th place. Honorable mention went to Point Loma Nazarene and Westmont.

Hawks center Rowan Gray (left) in action Tuesday against No. 2 Azusa Pacific. The Hawks defeated the Cougars for the first tim ein 16 years to gain a share of the Golden State Athletic Conference lead. (Azusa Pacific Courtesy Photo)

Hawks stun No. 2 Azusa Pacific, gain share of GSAC lead

By GARY PINE
APU Sports Info. Dir.
Special to East County Sports.com
AZUSA (1-18-06) -- Hours after San Diego Christian College center Rowan Gray was named the Golden State Athletic Conference men's basketball player of the week, the junior from Cairns, Australia, again took to the court and proved it wasn't a fluke.

In his most important performance of the season, Gray registered game-highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds, as the Hawks broke open a tied ballgame in the final minutes to slip past No. 2 Azusa Pacific, 62-59, at Felix Event Center.

It was the school's first victory over the Cougars in 26 games over a 16-year span, the last coming in 1990 when then-named Christian Heritage College captured their first of four NCCAA national championships.

The victory lifted SDCC (13-3 overall, 7-1 GSAC) -- winners of three straight and 8-of-9 contests -- into a first-place deadlock with the Cougars (16-2, 7-1), which loses for the first time since Nov. 11, saw their 15-game winning streak snapped.

Gray scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half, dropping in 6-of-8 shots. However, Rowan’s greatest contribution may have come with 3:59 left when double-teamed and his back to the basket, yet he was able to fire a nifty over-the-shoulder pass to a wide-open Jeremy Day, who laid in the go-ahead basket that gave SDCC a 56-54 lead it would not relinquish.

A minute later, Mike Hornbuckle, who burned the Hawks to give Azusa Pacific the lead to close the first half when he scored half of his team-high 14 points, hit a 3-point shot to trim the SDCC lead to 58-57. However, Gray was fouled by Hornbuckle on the next Hawks possession, nailing both foul shots with 1:32 to go.

Azusa forward Lance Soderberg blocked a layin attempt by Tyler Hayes, then scored on his own layin with 32 seconds left, as Colton Cornfoot stole the ball and passed it ahead for the fast-break basket.

However, Hayes made up for the miss inside by sinking a pair of foul shots after Hornbuckle fouled him with four seconds to go, as Hornbuckle missed a potential game-tying 23-foot shot at the buzzer.

The game was far from artistic, but rather was a defensive grind throughout the entire night. Neither team shot over 40% from the floor, and the squads combined for a dismal 5-for-31 (.163) clip from the arc. The Cougars committed a season-high 19 turnovers, 10 of which came off Hawk steals, and none was bigger than Hayes’ snag of a Hornbuckle pass to the wing with six seconds left as the Cougars went for the victory down, 60-59.

Nonetheless, Hornbuckle tonight snapped out of the 3-game doldrums in which he had scored just two points over the past week-and-a-half by dropping in a team-high 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Lance Soderberg and Brice Prather each tallied 11 points while Soderberg grabbed nine rebounds and Prather had eight.

Hayes finished with 19 points for San Diego Christian. His 24-foot bomb from the top of the arc, which came off 1 of the Hawks’ 18 offensive rebounds, pushed the SDCC advantage to 48-44 with 8 minutes left and seemingly gave the Hawks hope that they could finally get the monkey off their back.

Early on, Azusa Pacific led throughout most of the first half, but didn't mount its biggest lead until the final seconds at 31-25 after Hornbuckle scored the final seven points of the half.

With the Hawks holding a rare lead at 25-24, Hornbuckle nailed a 3-ball to move the Cougars in front with 39 seconds remaining. The guard added a pair of foul shots with eight seconds left, then stole the ball and hit a jump shot at the buzzer for a 6-point cushion.

However, the Hawks bounced right back behind Gray, who scored 10 of the Hawks first 15 points after the break, while Lawrence Walker hit a pair of outside jumpers for the rest of the scoring to catch Azusa at 40-all

Although the contest was tied on several occasions, Azusa would never regain the lead. Unable to control Gray, the Hawks center went to the line twice, making one foul shot each trip, then scoring a layin for a 4-point lead.

Walker finished with 13 points and four assists, as San Diego Christian outscored the Cougars, 37-27, in the second half.

Notes -- Gray captured his first GSAC weekly award after registering a duo of double-doubles in a pair of victories, averaging 20.5 points and 14.0 boards in victories over Hope International and No. 14 Biola. He also shot 66.7 percent (14-for-21) from the field, as the Hawks increased their home court win streak at Ryan Center to nine consecutive ballgames... Saturday's home game with Fresno Pacific has an early tipoff time, starting at 4:30 p.m., or 20 minutes following the 2:30 p.m. women's contest between the schools.

Women: Hawks don't look good in Leathers

By JASON CANNON
Courtesy APU Media Relation
AZUSA (1-18-06) -- After a tough stretch shooting the basketball, sophomore point guard Sarah Leathers has definitely turned the corner.

Knocking down 3-point jumpers throughout the game, mostly from the left wing, Leathers scored all 21 of her points on 7 makes from 3-point range, leading the NAIA’s No. 9-ranked Azusa Pacific to a 83-67 win over San Diego Christian, Tuesday (Jan. 17) night at Felix Event Center.

Leathers finished 7-for-12 from downtown, coming within a trey of tying the Cougars school record of eight set by Marie Dyk in 2004. While Leathers had been 7-for-19 over her past two games from long distance, she was only 7-for-34 during the previous five games.

Clearly, she was working her way back to form, but tonight she regained it - and then some. “My teammates were able to penetrate and when they did they were looking for me,” said Leathers. “They kept encouraging me to shoot which kept my confidence up.”

Head coach Danelle Liles agreed: “I think Sarah is a great shooter and I’m glad she had the night that she did because she hasn’t been shooting great recently so hopefully this gets her back on track."

Based on the way the game started it would have been hard to imagine that Azusa Pacific would have led at halftime by only 12. The Cougars (14-4 overall, 6-2 Golden State Athletic Conference) came out smoking as they scored the first seven points of the game.

After Hawks forward LeRAYA WILSON lay-up made it 7-2, Azusa Pacific made five consecutive shots as part of a 19-2 run that put them comfortably in front. That was when Leathers began to get it going from the outside. She was unconscious shooting from long distance as she nailed three triples during the run and 4 overall en route to 12 first-half points.

San Diego Christian (1-14, 0-8) received most of its scoring from the backcourt, as JAMIE GEAGLE scored 22 points, while AMY SHOWERS had 15 points.

The Hawks get a chance to snap their 10-game losing streak Saturday, meeting Fresno Pacific at Ryan Center, starting at 2:30 p.m.

Hawks center Rowan Gray powers past a Biola defender for the basket, propelling San Diego Christian past the No. 14 Eagles at Ryan Center. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Gray turns into gold, Hawks bounce Biola

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-15-06) -- In its first outing after getting relegated among the honorable mention in the NAIA national rankings, San Diego Christian College wanted to demonstrate the grave error of the voting panel.

Behind 19 points and 14 rebounds by center ROWAN GRAY, the Hawks led wire-to-wire to down visiting Biola, 67-57, in a pairing of teams tied for second place in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Following five straight victories, a narrow road loss at Westmont knocked SDCC from its perch at 16th in the poll, as the Warriors moved up to the No. 22 position. However, Westmont went on to fall to a .500 program in Vanguard, while the Hawks (12-3, 6-1) should again move back onto the front page of the rankings after downing the 14th-ranked Eagles.

"Rowan played like a man tonight," said San Diego Christian coach KELVIN STARR. "Especially when we needed it, he scored inside for us."

Starr also credited the team with their best defensive effort of the season. Following a 3-day game gap between games to make adjustments, the Hawks limited Biola to just 18 points in the first half on 8-for-24 shooting. Meanwhile, SDCC drained half of its 28 shots to take a 15-point lead into the break.

"That was just a good, solid defensive effort in the first half," he added. "Rowan helped give us the lead, then we never let them back into the game."

The outside shooting of TYLER HAYES kept Biola at bay. He sank 4-of-7 treys for 16 points, while the ball movement of the Hawks found three players -- DREW SANCHEZ, LAWRENCE WALKER and BRETT TOMPKINS -- each register four assists.

Spencer Foster led Biola (12-4, 4-2) with 22 points, while Brandon Warner added 16 points and nine boards.

San Diego Christian is alone in second place, one full game behind 3rd-ranked Azusa Pacific (16-1, 7-0) -- the teams clash Tuesday in Azusa in the featured GSAC contest of the week (Stat-cast HERE). Westmont stands third at 5-2, while Biola drops to fourth at 4-2.

Women: Hawks left all wet by Biola
Biola 59, San Diego Christian 51 -- The rain made for a soggy start after both teams seemingly needed a squeegee to see the basket following an unspectacular 19-16 first-half performance.

The Hawks made a drastic turnabout in the second half by shooting 50 percent from the floor, but the rebounding dominance of Biola was too much to overcome as the Eagles held on to a 59-51 victory at Ryan Center.

Linda Ogugua paced Biola with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Megann Alberts came off the bench to also register 17 points for the Eagles (7-7 overall, 4-2 in Golden State Athletic Conference). Crystal Duncan added seven points and seven assists.

The Hawks (1-13, 0-7) received 15 points from AMY SHOWERS, while JAIME GEAGEK posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards.

Double trouble

SDCC forward Jeremy Day looks to make the pass and escape the double team in Tuesday's 103-62 victory over visiting Hope International. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR MORE GAME ACTION, CLICK HERE

Hawks get breather,
turn Royals blue

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-11-06) -- Following a difficult stretch of three conference games over a period of five days, San Diego Christian College was due for a breather. And the schedule-maker obliged.

Facing the struggling program from Hope International University, center ROWAN GRAY headed a list of six Hawks who scored in double figures with 22 points, while the bench received considerable playing time in Tuesday's (Jan. 10) 103-62 drubbing of the Royals at Ryan Center.

Coupled with Vanugard's shocking 80-57 upset of Westmont, the Hawks (11-3 overall) are now alone in second place in the Golden State Athletic Conference at 5-1, one full game behind front-running Azusa Pacific.

"We haven't had a good practice in quite awhile because of the holidays and the schedule with so many games," noted SDCC coach KELVIN STARR. "Now we'll get three solid days of practive to get ready for Biola on Saturday."

Hawks guard Lawrence Walker (12) defends Hope International's Bryan Fincham in Tuesday's 103-62 romp in GSAC actionr. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Gray served notice that last Saturday's effort at Westmont was a fluke. After being held to just two points, the 6-foot-8 junior registered 17 points and 10 rebounds in just 12 minutes of the first half alone, propelling the Hawks to a 40-14 lead and a 53-26 halftime advantage.

"It was a good game to some playing time for some of the guys," added Starr. "It was Jeremy's first game back to get a lot of minutes, and Trevor got some extra minutes, too -- he's not had a chance to play in close games."

JEREMY DAY, who lost his appeal from the NAIA to receive a full year of eligibility after transferring from Tyler (Tex.) Community College, was a welcome sight by scoring 16 points and blocking three shots, giving the Hawks needed depth along the frontline. Meanwhile, TREVOR PERSON received 21 minutes and collected two assists and three boards.

Also scoring in double figures for the Hawks were TYLER HAYES and BRETT TOMPKINS (17 points each), LUKE HENDERSON (11) and LAWRENCE WALKER (10). Meanwhile, DREW SANCHEZ rarely tried to score from the point, yet mustered six assists and four steals, as the Hawks extended their lead into the 30s in the second half.

Five on Five

Hawks guard Tyler Hayes (right) takes the charge on defense, forcing Hope International guard Bryan Fincham into a turnover. Both players were Uniform No. 5 (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

"That's something we talked about at the break," noted Starr. "We wanted to be smart with the ball and not be sloppy, and we did that by only committing six turnovers in the second half. The guys did a good job."

Hope received a team-best 15 points from Michael Johnson, while Aron Cline and Wes Hager added 11 points each.

SDCC also had the rebounding advantage at 49-30, except for one brief series near the 5-minute mark of the first half when the Royals took five straight shots, only to see the first attempt missed, then the next three all blocked by the bigger Hawks underneath before Hope center Bill Curry scored his lone basket on a putback.

San Diego Christian, in surpassing the 100-point barrier for the first time this season, shot 57.4 percent (39-for-68) from the floor, plus 19-for-21 (90.5 percent) from the foul line -- both season highs.

Notes -- Hope head coach Greg Pappas once coached with current Steele Canyon High head coach Bernie Ballikin at C.W. Post University. Pappas later served as assistant vice president of student affairs and dean of student services at Fordham before moving to the west coast to serve as basketball coach and athletic director for Hope, which is based across the street from Cal State Fullerton.

WOMEN
Hawks make one comeback, no Hope for another

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-11-06) -- Trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half, San Diego Christian College rallied to take a brief lead before Hope International hit the final shot of the first half to forge a 31-all deadlock heading into the locker room.

But when the Hawks again fell behind by double digits early in the second half, Royals forward Carly Andrews prevent another rally atteempt. The junior transfer from Saddleback College rattled off nine straight points, then iginited a pair of fast breaks for two more buckets, leading Hope to a 75-57 victory at Ryan Center.

"The coaching staff has brought in a lot of new players," said Andrews of the recent success for a Royals side traditionally at the bottom of the Golden State Athletic Conference standings. "And we've become good friends, too, which shows on the court."

Leading 47-45, Andrews quickly expanded the cushing by scoring on a pair of layins off passes by Amanda Shaw and Allison Wulff, getting fouled on the second shot for a 3-point play.

Andrews, who registered game highs of 23 points and 13 rebounds, then scored on a reverse layin, then made two foul shots on the next possession. The Hawks (1-12, 0-6) then tried a pair of 3-point shot to start a comeback, but Andrews rebounded both misses, first passing to a guard for a fastbreak bucket, then leading the break herself and feeding Jasmine Hault for a layin.

"Rebounding is why we won it in the second half," added Andrews. "And we finally defended well."

Hault scored 22 points, including 14 in the second half for HIU (9-5, 2-3)

San Diego Christian capped a first-half comeback on a 3-point goal by JAIME GEAGLE for a brief 31-29 lead with 1:20 to play. However, Andrews countered with a pair of foul shots with 33 seconds left.

Geagle and AMY SHOWERS paced the Hawks with 16 points each. Geagle also had a team-best nine rebounds, falling one shy of a double-double. Showers added four steals, while ALISA ANDERSON scored nine points.

Westmont ends Hawks string

East County Sports.com
SANTA BARBARA (1-8-06) -- Playing its third tight conference contest of the week, 16th-ranked San Diego Christian College faded over the final six minutes Saturday (Jan. 7), as Westmont broke a 58-all deadock with an 18-7 run over the game's final 6:25 to down the Hawks, 76-65, in Golden State Athletic Conference action at Murchison Gymnasium.

The Hawks saw their five-game winning streak snapped, as the decision leaves both school tied for second place at 4-1, with second-ranked Azusa Pacific remaining perfect through five outings following its 77-68 road victory at Concordia.

LAWRENCE WALKER, who scored a team-best 20 points, hit a short jumper and a foul shot to keep SDCC (9-3 overall) close, then DREW SANCHEZ (19 points) twice drove the lane for layins, but the Warriors tallied the game's final sxi points over the final 38 seconds to move back into contention for the GSAC title.

Senior forward Nick Debban paced Westmont with 21 points and eight rebounds, while center Santiago Aguirre added 19 points while limiting opposing center ROWAN GRAY to just a single basket.

After going 2-1 against contending teams this week, San Diego Christian receives a bit of a breather next, returning to Ryan Center toi host winless Hope International on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Women: Westmont 78, San Diego Christian 52 -- The Warriors nailed five 3-balls in the first half to mount an 18-point advantage, strolling to an easy victory over the visiting Hawks. Tied at 13-all, Westmont went on a 12-0 run and were never headed.

Ali Moott paced Westmont (8-6 overall, 3-2 GSAC) with 17 points iand 14 rebounds nside, while guard Meghan O'Donogue hit four treys for the contest as part of her 16 points,

AMY SHOWERS scored 14 points for San Diego Christian (1-11, 0-5), JAIME GEAGLE added 12 points and four assists, while ALISA ANDERSON posted 12 boards and three assists.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-6-05) -- With 10 seconds left in regulation, the plan by Cal Baptist coach Tim Collins was quickly becoming obvious: Clear everyone out and allow Lancers guard Junior Denson to go one-on-one with San Diego Christian guard LAWRENCE WALKER.

Well, almost everyone cleared out, as a Lancers forward came to the high post to set a late screen.

"And Lawrence got smashed," said Hawks center ROWAN GRAY, who lunged forward, but was unable to block Denson's 3-point shot, which landed flush into the bottom of the net to force overtime to cap a Cal Baptist comeback from an 18-point deficit.

However, Walker finally won the battle, taking both head-to-head confrontations in the final minute of overtime.

First, the senior made a dramatic baseline drive with the basketball with 23.8 seconds remaining, getting fouled on a reverse layin attempt. Walker sank both foul shots to reclaim the lead, capping a game-high 24-point scoring effort.

And when Cal Baptist again went to the clear-out to give Denson a chance to pull out the victory on the game's final play, Walker got into the face of the Lancers' shooter just enough to force the ball off the right-side of the rim, giving 21st-ranked San Diego Christian to cling to an 88-87 triumph at Ryan Center.

"Junior's a real good player -- quick and shifty -- and he's a challenge just like everyone else in this conference," noted Walker. "But I thought I could take the ball to the basket, then he helped by fouling me."

The extra effort -- or the extra 5-minute period -- shouldn't have been necessary according Hawks coach KELVIN STARR, who saw a 51-33 lead disappear over the final 17 minutes.

"We just stopped defending," said Starr. "But we found a way to win -- that's all I know."

Strong offensive rebounding led to numerous second-chance points to propel SDCC into the first-half lead. Included was a putback by JEREMIAH TRUEMAN, who was fouled for a 3-point play near the midway mark, then a steal by reserve LUKE HENDERSON led to a 3-point goal by DREW SANCHEZ to cap a 12-2 run for a 29-17 advantage.

Gray then took over early underneath to start the second half. On consecutive plays,. the junior from Australia scored on a putback, rejected a shot by a resounding block, then gained strong position at the low post and got fouled on a shot attempt, making both free throws for a 53-35 lead before things started unraveling.

The Hawks shot 67 percent from the floor (16-for-24) in the first half, but Cal Baptist countered by hitting 16-of-26 shots (62 percent) in the second half.

Except at 2-0, Cal Baptist never led until overtime, taking an 87-84 lead on a driving 7-footer by Denson, who finished with 13 points after going scoreless over the opening 20 minutes.

However, Walker hit a pair of foul shots with 1:10 left after a drive to the basket, then the defense forced a 5-second violation on the ensuing inbounds play following a Starr timeout.

"Both of Lawrence's drives were the biggest plays of the game," added Starr. :And the 5-second call was good to us, too."

Gray finished with 19 points and seven boards, BRETT TOMPKINS added 18 points and eight boards, while Sanchez collected 16 points and six assists.

For Cal Baptist, Sam Davis supplied 18 points, while T.J. Arterberry added 16 points.

San Diego Christian completes a busy 3-game schedule this week by traveling to Santa Barbara for a 7:30 p.m. contest Saturday with Westmont. The Warriors (10-4, 3-1) held off visiting Fresno Pacific, 59-56, at home Thursday, while second-ranked Azusa Pacific maintained its share of first place with the Hawks after holding off The Master's, 85-80.

Women: Cal Baptist 85, San Diego Christian 59 -- The hot hotuside shooting Erin Greenberg allowed the visiting Lancers to mount a 42-17 halftime lead Thursday (Jan. 5), racing to a GSAC victory over San Deigo Chtristian College at Ryan Center.

Greenberg connected on 7-of-15 shots from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 25 points, while teammates Vanessa Wilt and Jessica Fisiikava added 14 points each for Cal Baptist (9-5 overall, 3-1 GSAC).

"We were coming off a hard loss, so there was pressure on our team to perform," noted Greenberg, a sophomore from Scottsdale, Ariz.

The struggling Hawks (1=1-, 0-4) received 22 points from JAIME GEAGEL, while LeRAYA WILSON, after going scoreless in her previous outing, bounced back to register a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-4-06) -- Down by as many as 12 points, Point Loma Nazarene guard Finis Jones tried to single-handedly rally the Sea Lions.

Jones twice dribbled hard to the basket, picking up a pair of baskets to cut San Diego Christian's lead down to two. But when Jones tried the same move a third time, Hawks forward BRETT TOMPKINS responded with a resounding, "No!"

Tompkins blocked Jones' short jumper, then answered on the other end a few minutes later with a back-breaking 3-ball with 36 seconds remaining, as the 21st-ranked Hawks stayed perfect in the Golden State Athletic Conference following Tuesday's (Jan. 3) 76-65 triumph over their 14th-ranked crosstown rivals at Ryan Center.

"Jones already made two baskets on me, so there was no way I was going to allow him to get a third," said Tompkins, whose block with 2:56 remaining would trigger a 9-0 run by SDCC (8-2 overall, 3-0 GSAC) to close the contest.

The shot rejection sandwiched around a pair of baskets by Hawks guard LAWRENCE WALKER, as the two guards starting matching each other with drives to the hoop.

DREW SANCHEZ followed with his own dribble penetration, but when the Sea Lions collapsed on him along the baseline, somehow Sanchez found space to skip the ball out to the top of the key, where Tompkins drained his 3-ball. Sanchez paced the offense with nine assists.

The defense then registered another steal, as center ROWAN GRAY, who registered game-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds, picked off a pass at midcourt to clinch the Hawks' fourth straight victory.

"The defense definitely did a good job," noted SDCC coach Kelvin Starr. "That's what won the game for us."

The decision also gave Starr his second win in seven starts against former Hawks coach Art Wilmore, who now directs Point Loma Nazarene (6-4, 1-2).

"Kelvin and his coaches have a really good team this year -- I'm proud of him," noted Wilmore. "They attacked us and controlled the game. We took a couple of gambles at the end of the game, but they made us pay for it each time with a steal."

TYLER HAYES added 14 points for the Hawks, while Walker finished with 11. The Sea Lions received 15 points from Xavier Lopez, and 13 from Matt Benson. However, they were missing starting center Tim Kruge, who was in Arizona on a family emergency. Filling in for Kruge were three reserves, two are freshmen including West Hills High product MATT GILSON.

Women: Point Loma Nazarene 71, San Diego Christian 57 -- Despite nearly half of their scoring due to players becoming ineligible, the Hawks made a strong showing on offense by shooting 17-for-20 at the foul line and committing only 18 turnovers. However, Angela Manjarrez recorded team highs of 17 points and four assists to lead the Sea Lions (8-2, 2-1).

San Diego Christian (1-9, 0-3) was paced by JAIME GEAGLE, who registered a double-double with 18 points and 13 boards, while AMY SHOWERS added 16 points.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-30-05) -- Facing a trio of important Golden State Athletic Conference ballgames next week, the holiday break for San Diego Christian College was shorter than usual, but mixed with an announcement of good news, the Hawks looked sharp because of it.

Led by 16 points by LAWRENCE WALKER, a half-dozen different players all scored in double figures, helping San Diego Christian wallop visiting Bethany University, 83-50, Thursday (Dec, 29) at Ryan Center. The Hawks are now 8-2 and ranked 21st in the NAIA nationally, the team's first breakthrough into the Top 25 after being listed among the honorable mention through the first two months of the season.

Walker sank 5-for-6 shots from the floor plus all four foul shots, then passed for seven assists, helping the Hawks to a comfortable 46-20 halftime lead. But the guard received a ton of help from his teammates.

Included was a 13-point effort from shooting guard DANNY WALL, who also muscled inside for four offensive rebounds, then drained 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc.

"We had seven days off, but we played well, which is good because we have three huge GSAC games next week," noted Wall. "We all passed well, especially Trey, who we got all excited for when he scored his first points on a layup -- that pumps us all up."

"Trey" is guard TREVOR PERSON, who saw his first action of the season following extreme health difficulties during the first semester. Person first had his appendix removed, but it was found that wasn't his problem until doctors then determined he suffered a severe virus infection. He then needed to gain 20 pounds before reaching any sort of playing shape.

"And since TYLER HAYES was too sick to play, it gave him the opportunity to get some playing time," added Wall. "Trey played great, so ROWAN GRAY was sharp inside, which was real nice to see."

Gray finished second to Walker with 15 points. DREW SANCHEZ recorded 11 points, while JEREMIAH TRUEMAN and BRETT TOMPKINS each came off the bench to post 10 points.

Having so many hot hands at once will help when San Diego Christian hosts crosstown rival Point Loma Nazarene (6-4) on Tuesday (Jan. 3) in a women's-men's doubleheader starting at 5:30 p.m. (men start 20 minutes following the women at approximately 7:30 p.m.). The contest marks the return of former Hawks coach Art Wilmore, who left for the Sea Lions program four years ago.

"Point Loma is a really good team, so we should be in for a good battle," noted Wall of the Sea Lions,

Hawks coach KELVIN STARR, a former assistant under Wilmore, is just 1-5 against his former mentor.

Following the meeting with the Sea Lions, San Diego Christian hosts Cal Baptist on Thursday (Jan. 5), then travels to Santa Barbara to battle Westmont on Saturday (Jan. 7).

Women: Bethany 60, San Diego Christian 49 -- While the SDCC men received good news over the Christmas break, the women were on the flip side of the equation.

The Hawks lost one of their two top players to grades, thus proved to be a home underdog against lowly Bethany. The Bruins took advantage to move to 3-12, snapping a 3-game losing streak as freshman guard Rosemary Brown scored a game-best 18 points.

AMY SHOWERS paced SDCC (1-8) with 11 points, LeRAYA WILSON added 10 points, while JAIME GEAGLE added eight points and 10 rebounds. However, the offense, missing a top player, lacked cohesiveness and mustered just eight assists.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-17-05) -- Tiny Montreat College (N.C.), after opening with a dismal 1-10 record to start the season, captured its second straight ballgame after outlasting San Diego Christian College, 76-71, in Friday's (Dec. 16) non-conference game at Ryan Center.

Cavaliers guard Shennelle Feather scored a career-high 29 points, bombing away from the outside with 13 3-point attempts, making five to break open a close ballgame.

San Diego Christian saw three different players -- J'NESS FLOWERS, JULEE HARBECK and ALISA ANDERSON -- score 17 points each, while JAIME GEAGLE added 15. Flowers also registered 15 rebounds.

However, the Hawks couldn't penetrate the Cavs' zone, thus only reached the foul line once, hitting 1-of-2 shots. Meanwhile, Montreat drained 11-of-22 free throws to spell the difference in the contest.

Feather, who is studying to become an orthodontist, hit two straight 3-balls for a 27-15 lead in the first half, but the Hawks stormed back to claim a 35-33 halftime advantage, thanks to 4-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Hawks continued their torrid outside shooting in the second half, as a Harbeck 3-ball pushed the host's lead to 40-33. However, Montreat answered by shooting 57.7 percent from the floor in the second half to bounce back, as guard Monique De Loatch passed for six of her eight assists.

Flowers added seven steals, falling just three thefts short of a triple-double.

The Hawks (1-7) now take a two-week holiday break, returning to action on Thurs., Dec. 29 against Bethany (CA) at 5:30 p.m.

Drive to the basket

Hawks guard Drew Sanchez drives around CSULA's Ruben Lopez for the layin, lifting San Diego Christian to a 68-56 triumph. (Photo by Jackie Armstrong)

Hawks vacate the 3-point shot to rally past CSULA

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-15-05) -- When one of his teammates was sent to the bench with early foul trouble, San Diego Christian guard DREW SANCHEZ knew he was in for a long night.

Called upon by Hawks coach KELVIN STARR to not only run the offense, but be the playmaker, too, Sanchez responded with 11 points and a team season-hgih 12 assists to skate past visiting Cal State-Los Angeles, 68-56, in Wednesday's (Dec. 14) non-conference contest at Ryan Center.

"I'm sure glad the Christmas break is coming up -- finally, my body gets a break," joked Sanchez, who keyed the Hawks rally from a 6-point, first-half deficit. "We couldn't just keep shooting 3's all night, so we had to get the ball inside."

After shooting a dismal 26.5 percent in the first half, most from the perimeter, it's amazing how high a team's shooting percentage can go when you shoot layins. And layins. And even more layins, consistently working the ball inside the defense of the Golden Eagles (2-5).

"No matter what you shoot -- which was pretty poor on our part in the first half -- you have to defend your own basket first," noted Starr, who saw his Hawks win for the fourth straight outing (not counting the exhibition game). "My philosophy has always been that way. But then we penetrated their defense and made some great passes for easy shots."

Benefiting was center ROWAN GRAY, who hit 8-of-9 shots from the floor to score a game-high 19 points, while JEREMIAH TRUEMAN hit 4-of-6 shots, then went 8-for-8 at the foul line for his 16 points.

While San Diego Christian (7-2) running a more conventional offense, the outside then became available for guard TYLER HAYES. Following a forgerful 2-for-13 shooting spree in the first half, he hit three wide-open jumpers over the final 20 minutes to finish with 13 points.

Meanwhile, Sanchez finished by playing 39 minutes after teammate LAWRENCE WALKER collected his third foul in the first half. Fortunately for Sanchez, Starr switched his defensive assignment to allow him to utilize his energy in directing the offense.

"That was a nice switch by Coach," added Sanchez. "The guy I was now guarding wasn't really a shooting threat, which gave my body a break."

Trailing 26-20 with three minutes left in the first half, San Diego Christian moved to within 28-23 at the half, then outscored Cal State-L.A. by a 45-28 margin to pull away in the second half.

The Golden Eagles received 14 points from forward Gene Mvett, Jonate Vinson scored 13, while Marques Hamilton finished with a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Hawks will take two weeks off, then return for a non-conference game at home with Bethany before returning to Golden State Athletic Conference play. SDCC remains tied for first with NAIA nation top-ranked Azusa Pacific.

Final Box

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-11-05) -- San Diego Christian College played its best 33 minutes of basketball all season, but the final seven almost turned into disaster before the Hawks held off visiting Cal State-Dominguez Hills, 80-74, Saturday (Dec. 10) at Ryan Center.

TYLER HAYES scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half, as the Hawks surged to a 17-2 lead out of thr gate, as it took more than eight minutes before the Toros could score their second basket.

And when Hayes hit his fifth 3-pointer of the half, SDCC increased its margin to 23 points at 39-16 with 3:49 left until the intermission.

"We just defended well," said SDCC coach Kelvin Starr. "Then Tyler hit some big shots for us, which opened things up inside for ROWAN GRAY."

Gray was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, plus grabbed nine rebounds in the first half. The center from Australia finished with 19 points and a team season high of 16 rebounds, as the Hawks controlled the boards by a 45-27 cushion.

However, over the final seven minutes, the Toros turned up the pressure on defense against the SDCC reserves. But when some of the starters returned, the momentum stayed with "The Hills."

"They started to press us and make a game of it," added Starr.

The Toros cut the double-digit deficit to just two points at 76-74 with 1:54 remaining when Shamont Brown scored a layin, then stole the inbounds pass and fed Trevon Bryant for another layin.

However, LAWRENCE WALKER hit two foul shots, part of a series of six straight by the senior guard ovr the final three minutes. During the streak, he actually missed one free throw with 18.7 seconds left, which would've left SDCC with a 3-point lead to give the Toros an opportunity to force overtime, but a lane violation nullified the miss, with Walker hitting the substitute free throw for a 4-point lead.

Fortunately, a total collapse was avoided thanks to Thursday's exhibition loss to Division I Sacramento State two nights earlier.

"It always helps you to play more athletic teams like Sacramento State," noted Starr. "And that finally helped us to get by tonight."

BRETT TOMPKINS added 14 points for the Hawks (6-2), while Walker had 12 points and seven assists. DREW SANCHEZ also chipped in six assists.

Dominguez Hills (1-5) received 22 points from Durwin Williams, Carlos Rivers added 16 points and five assists, while Brown has 13 points and nine boards.

San Diego Christian's last contest before the holiday will be Wednesday (Dec. 14) at home against CSUDM rival, Cal State-Los Angeles, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Ryan Center. Box Score

Women: CSU-Dominguez Hills 72, San Diego Christian 49
Courtesy CSUDH media relations
CARSON (12-11-05) -- While the men played in El Cajon, the two schools played its women's basketball game at The Torodome, where CSUDH (3-2) snapped a two-game losing streak behind 19 points and eight rebounds by senior guard Tameka Blue.

The Toros would not allow the game to be close, opening on a 27-2 run over the first 13 minuets. The Hawks would struggle mightily, scoring their first basket at the 16:39 mark, and not scoring again until the clock showed 7:05.

SDCC was not able to find their offense, and would shoot only 12 percent from the field, compared to 50 percent by the Toros. Sophomore Alana Bailey would lead all first-half scores with 10 points for CSUDH, one less than the entire Hawks team.

However, the Hawks showed great determination to leave an impression on the Toros. The offense that was nowhere to be found in the first half finally showed up. SDCC would more than triple their offensive output from the first half, eventually winning the second half, 38-31, thank to 10 3-point baskets, including a series of five in-a-row.

The Hawks were led by J’ness Flowers, who garnered game high scoring honors with 22 points, including four three pointers. Also scoring in double figures for SDCC (1-6) was Amy Showers with 13 points, including three from beyond the arc. Box Score

Hawks stay close but fall to Division I foe

Courtesy CSU-Sacramento media relations
SACRAMENTO (12-9-05) -- Junior Alex Bausley had 18 points, seven rebounds and a career-high six steals, while senior Jason Harris added 13 points, two blocks and two steals to lead Sacramento State to a 64-55 victory over San Diego Christian in a non-conference men’s basketball game Thursday evening at the Hornets Nest.

With the victory, Sacramento State (6-3) has now won five of its last six games for their best start since elevating to NCAA Division I status for the 1988-89 season. The contest marked the Hawks' first-ever meeting with a Division I school.

San Diego Christian (5-3) led throughout the first 13:01 of the game until a 3-pointer from junior Haron Hargrave gave Sacramento State its first lead at 21-20. The shot sparked a 15-2 run to close the half by the Hornets. During the run, Harris scored seven of his 13 points, as Sacramento State held the Hawks scoreless over the final 4:01 of the half.

The Hornets were able to extend their lead to a game-high 21 points on four occasions during the second half, including a 58-37 lead with 6:59 to play. After a Bausley free throw gave Sacramento State its 64th point of the night at the 2:56 mark of the second stanza, the Hornets did not score again as San Diego Christian scored the game’s final 10 points.

Sacramento State shot 40.0 percent (24-60) from the field and forced the Hawks into 26 turnovers.

San Diego Christian’s Rowan Gray led all players with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyler Hayes (14 points, nine rebounds) and Lawrence Walker (10 points, five rebounds and four steals) also scored in double figures for the Hawks. San Diego Christian outrebounded Sacramento State, 43-33, and converted 14-of-18 free throw attempts (77.8 percent).

For further information, visit the Sacramento State website HERE.

Next up -- The Hawks return home for a nonconference contest with lowly Cal State-Dominguez Hills. The Division II Toros are just 1-4 this season, including a 74-58 setback at home to Concordia (CA), a team the Hawks defeated 74-69 last week. The Toros' lone victory came in overtime against San Francisco State.

Last season, San Diego Christian took both meetings against the Toros, winning a 90-85 thriller on November 22 in Carson before taking a 79-65 victory at the Cal State L.A. Thanksgiving Classic on November 27. In the opener, Les Norman dropped 26 on CHC, but the Hawks boasted four players in double-figure scoring to take the overtime decision. In the rematch just five days later, CHC outscored the Toros by 15 in the second half to erase a one-point deficit, converting all 18 second-half foul shots en route to the comeback win.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Ryan Center.

East County Sports.com
SACRAMENTO (12-7-05) -- San Diego Christian College will face an NCAA Division I opponent for the first time ever Thursday (Dec. 8), traveling north to meet Sacramento State at 7:05 p.m.

The Hornets, members of the Big Sky Conference, are coming off a 106-94 victory over Long Beach State in a non-conference game Monday at the Hornets Nest on the CSUS campus.

Including the team’s 100-61 victory over William Jessup earlier this season, Sacramento State (5-3) has now reached the century mark twice this year, matching the team’s most 100-point games in a season since the program’s first year of Div. I play in 1991-92. The Hornets have won four of their last five, are now 2-0 at home this season in their 1,200-seat gym -- the smallest in major college basketball. The school claims the Hornets Nest, built in 1955, to be the nation's oldest Div. I facility, however, the Palestra in Philadelphia was erected in 1928.

Meanwhile, the Hawks are 5-2 overall, tied for first place with nationally top-ranked Azusa Pacific at the top of the Golden State Athletic Conference standings.

The game will be broadcast on KTKZ AM-1380 in Sacramento, but you can hear it on the web, at: www.ktkz.com/

Courtesy Concordia media relations
IRVINE (12-4-05) -- Following the first week of Golden State Athletic Conference action, look who San Diego Christian College is tied for first place with.

Following the Hawks’ 70-62 road triumph over Concordia (CA), SDCC is one of two teams standing at 2-0 through opening week. The other team: Azusa Pacific, the nation’s top-ranked NAIA program.

San Diego Christian (5-2 overall) overcame a slow start to lead by a basket at the intermission, 38-36, then turned up the defense over the final 20 minutes, limiting the Eagles to just 21.4 percent shooting to quickly pull away Saturday (Dec. 3).

Concordia took control of the game early as lay-ups by Adam Greenaway and Kyle Hugget put the Eagles up 20-9 with 10:31 to play in the first half. However, Hawks guard DREW SANCHEZ used a steal and a 3-point basket over the next 40 seconds to ignite the offense.

Later, the Hawks went on an 11-0 run, sparked by a trey from DANIEL WALL. And when LAWRENCE WALKER scored on a fast break layin with 33 seconds left in the half, SDCC commanded its first lead of the game, 35-34. Both teams shot 53.8% in the half.

The Hawks found their rhythm in the second half, jumping out to a quick 48-39 lead. Greenaway fired back for Concordia, hitting back-to-back 3-balls to pull the Eagles within five, 50-45, with 16:12 remaining.

Both teams went on a scoring drought for three minutes, until Josh Kramer hit a trey followed by a Greenaway drive to extend the Eagles' run to 11-0, tying the game at 50-all with 13 minutes to play.

Then the Hawks defense took command over the final ten minutes as San Diego Christian pulled away, 63-55 with six minutes remaining in the game. The Eagles attacked the basket, but failed to connect on free throws, shooting just 10-for-21 from the line in the final frame.

Joe Roberson led Concordia in defeat with 14 points, shooting 10-of-12 from the foul line. Greenaway contributed 13 points for the Eagles in the losing effort. San Diego Christian was led by Sanchez and ROWAN GRAY, who each finished with 18 points. Gray also tallied 15 boards for the Hawks.

Women
Concordia (CA) 67, San Diego Christian 37 -- The host Eagles shot a hot 53.1% from the field and held the Hawks of San Diego Christian College to just 18.3% on the way to victory Saturday night.

The Eagles jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back. The Concordia offense was on fire, hitting 12 of 23 shots in the frame, as CUI went on to extend their lead to 20 points, holding San Diego Christian College to only eight points in the first 15:30 of play.

The Hawks hit a three and scored on a fast break off an Eagle turnover with 46 seconds remaining in the first period to bring the score to 32-13 at the halfway mark. SDCC struggled from the field, shooting 15.6% against CUI's changing defenses.

SDCC was led in defeat by AMY SHOWERS, who shot 4-for-6 from beyond the arc for her 17 points from off the bench. JAIME GEAGEL added nine points and four rebounds for the Hawks (1-5, 0-2).

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (11-30-05) -- The play-making efforts of San Diego Christian College guard DREW SANCHEZ may make the difference in making the team contenders in the difficult Golden State Athletic Conference this season. Yet for one night, Sanchez was good enough to give the Hawks the Day One lead.

Sanchez, a junior from Salinas, registered four of his game-high eight assists during a 22-8 run to mount a 12-point lead in the first half Tuesday (Nov. 29), lifting the Hawks to a 74-69 decision over Vanguard at Ryan Center.

"It was difficult, at times, to figure out what they were foinf on defense," said Sanchez, who aslo added eight points without committing a turnover. "And we're still learning to play with each other."

Nevertheless, once the Hawks grabbed the lead, they kept it throughout, staving off a pair of Vanguard runs which cut the lead down to two points thanks to forcing turnovers from everybody except Sanchez (12-3 advantage in steals), but could never get over the hump as the Hawks answered with a 24-12 lead to put away the victory.

ROWAN GRAY paced San Diego Christian (4-2 overall, 1-0 GSAC) with 17 points, while DANIEL WALL added 12 and BRETT TOMPKINS had 11.

Vanguard (5-2, 0-1), which entered the game with the best overall record among GSAC schools, received 18 points each from Kevin Dalafu (all 3-pointers) and Tim Burnette, but the rest of the Lions shot a mere 31 percent (11-for-36) from the floor.

Women
Vanguard 95, San Diego Christian 60 -- Syracuse University transfer Jessica Richter poured in a career-high 36 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading Vanguard past San Diego Christian in the teams' GSAC opener in the first game of Tuesday's (Nov. 29) doubleheader..

Richter connected on 13-of-25 shots from the floor, including six 4-pointers, helping the Lions mount a 48-24 halftime lead.

AMY SHOWERS paced the Hawks (0-4 overall, 0-1 GSAC) with 25 points, while J'NESS FLOWERS added 18 points, but the Lions (4-0, 1-0) dominated on the boards (48-33) to take control early.

San Diego Christian returns to action Friday (Dec. 2) at 7 p.m., hosting Simpson College in a non-conference contest.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (11-29-05) -- After playing one of the most difficult schedules of any team in its conference, San Diego Christian College opens its 2005-06 Golden State Athletic Conference slate Tuesday (Nov. 29) when the Hawks host Vanguard at Ryan Center. The game is slated for 7:30 p.m., while the schools also meet in women's basketball action at 5:30 p.m.

The Hawks are still listed among the NAIA national honorable mention, but four other GSAC schools are above them, including top-ranked Azusa Pacific. Vanguard's Lions are unranked, yet possess the top record of the 11 GSAC schools at 5-1 overall.

The lone common opponent is Oakland's Holy Names University, as SDCC's Hawks defeated the HNU Hawks, 78-67, while Vanguard fell in the HNU Tournament, 87-75, to open the season. However, the Lions have since claimed five consecutive victories.

The men's game will also be available via a LIVE WEBCAST if you can't make it to Ryan Center in person.

Courtesy CSUSB media relations
SAN BERNARDINO (11-27-05) -- Cal State San Bernardino rode the hot shooting hand of junior Desirae Martinez and the solid inside game of junior Christina Day to a 76-56 victory over San Diego Christian Colleg,e Saturday (Nov. 26), at Coussoulis Arena.

Martinez, a transfer from Fullerton College, was "in the zone" coming off the bench, hitting 12-of-13 shots from the floor, including 6-for-7 from three-point range, for a career-high 30 points in only her third NCAA Division II game.

Day, a 5-11 transfer from Sierra College, notched her first double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, seven of them coming in the first half as the Coyotes (3-0) pulled away for a 38-24 lead over the Hawks (0-3) at intermission. She came into the game averaging eight rebounds a game.

"If we don't get that kind of production from those two, we don't win the game," said CSUSB Head Coach Kevin Becker, describing San Diego Christian as much-improved over past seasons."

Junior transfer Mariqueta Starling had a game-high 13 rebounds for the Coyotes. Day and Monique Cruz each had four assists for CSUSB.

J'Ness Flowers and Amy Showers each had 15 points for the Hawks, who dropped their third straight. Dorchella James had 10 points, all in the first half, to go with a game-high five assists. Jaime Geagel had a team-high seven boards.

Leading 14-11 after a three-pointer by Showers with 9:42 left in the first half, the Coyotes opened up an eight-point lead on a three-pointer by Martinez and a jumper by Tamara Thomas. SDCC got back to within three at 21-18 on a layup by Flowers. But CSUSB outscored the Hawks 10-4 to take a 31-22 lead with 2:43 left in the half on a jumper by Cruz.

Courtesy Concordia media relations
PORTLAND, Ore. (11-20-05) -- Defensive purists were shuddering following the opening 20 minutes of play Saturday (Nov.19) at Cavalier Gym.

Visiting San Diego Christian College shot a sizzling 55 percent from the floor, yet still trailed by 14 points at the break because Concordia (Ore.) shot 60 percent overall, hit 5-of-8 three-pointers in the first half en route to a high-octane 93-80 victory.

The Cavaliers raise their record to 5-0, while the Hawks, listed among the honorable mention in the NAIA national poll, fell to 3-2.

Ernie Rama had 20 points to lead four Concordia players in double figures. Rama was 7-for-10 from the floor, and hit all three of his three-point attempts.

Alex Hartman added 18 for Concordia, and added eight rebounds to pace the Cavaliers on the boards. Michael Lay and Cody Aker chipped in 14 and 10, respectively.

Tyler Hayes led San Diego Christian with 22, as the Hawks whittled Concordia's 17-point lead midway through the second half down to single digits, only to see the Cavaliers protect the lead in the final three minutes.

"We wanted to combat their size with quickness -- they're a physical team with very good inside play," said Cavs head coach Brad Barbarick. "We got some good early baskets, and that helped control the tempo, which was one of our pre-game keys."

"Our consistency of effort was really maximum tonight, as far as our defensive intensity. I felt we competed almost the entire game.

CU wound up shooting 50 percent from the floor for the game (31-62), as well as from three-point range (9-18). The Cavs also put in a strong effort on the boards, as a much taller SDCC squad only enjoyed a 38-37 rebound margin.

The loss gives the Hawks of their weekend trip to Oregon. On Friday, SDCC over-whelmed Multnomah Bible, 95-47.

Courtesy of UAA media relations
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (11-18-05) -- Rebecca Kielpinski came one point shy of the school freshman scoring record with 27 points Thursday (Nov. 17), leading Alaska-Anchorage to a 78-49 rout of San Diego Christian at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex to sweep the season-opening, two-game series.

The Seawolves (2-0) also received 13 points off the bench from freshman Kim Brady and used a 46-23 rebounding advantage to run away from the visiting NAIA team. SDCC (0-2) was led by guard DORCELLA JAMES’ 17 points, but the UAA defense held the Hawks to just 18.8 percent shooting (9-for48) from the floor.

Defense was the key to UAA building a 39-17 advantage at the break as the Seawolves forced 11 turnovers and forced SDCC into 2-for-22 shooting from the field.

Kielpinski, last year’s North Dakota Miss Basketball, scored 16 of her points in the first half and finished with some eye-popping numbers – 11-15 FG, 16 rebounds, six assists and five blocks. The 27 points were just one short of the Seawolves freshman record, set by UAA Hall of Famer Robin Graul, set Mar. 1, 1986 against Iona.

Fellow rookie Brady put up some equally impressive statistics, scoring all of her points in just eight minutes, without missing a shot – 4-4 FG, 3-3 3FG, 2-2 FT. Freshman point guard Limor Pelleg was the third Seawolf in double-figures with 10 points.

Great White North

Hawks junior transfer Charina Moore (44) guards Alaska-Anchroage freshman center Rebecca Kielpinski, who had an impressive debut by scoring 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting. (UAA courtesy photo)

Courtesy of Alaska-Anchorage media relations
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (11-17-05) – The Alaska-Anchorage women’s basketball team was served well by youth and experience in its season-opener Wednesday (Nov. 16), getting big games from senior Kelsey Larsen and a trio of freshmen to outlast San Diego Christian College, 72-64, at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

Larsen scored a career-high 12 points and posted her first double-double with 10 rebounds, while freshman center Rebecca Kielpinski poured in a game-high 18 points on near-perfect shooting for the Seawolves.

The Hawks (0-1) got 16 points from guard DORCHELLA JAMES, as the Hawks fought back from a 19-point deficit to take the lead in the second half. Forward J’ NESS FLOWERS added 14 points and grabbed five rebounds for the NAIA squad.

The Seawolves played flawlessly through the first 12 minutes, opening a 29-10 lead capped by a Mari Riser three-pointer. A quick 9-0 run by the visitors made it closer, and Seldovia native JAIME GEAGEL nailed a three-pointer just before the buzzer to cut it to 35-30 at halftime.

SDCC continued its charge in the second half, going up 40-39 on Flowers’ two free throws at the 16:09 mark. But UAA freshman point guard Limor Pelleg (10 points, 5 assists) answered with her own three-pointer on the next possession, giving the Seawolves a lead they would not relinquish.

Seawolf freshman guard Tristan Burnett was also instrumental in helping UAA fend off several late challenges by the Hawks. The Oregon City High School product scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half and finished 6-for-11 from the field and 4-for-7 from long range, playing 18 minutes off the bench.

Riser scored 11 points (6-6 FT) and dished five assists, while Kielpinski was a force down low, shooting 6-for-7 from the field and the charity stripe, to go with nine rebounds, three steals and pair of blocks.

Larsen, whose previous career-best was eight points, unveiled a new weapon in her offensive arsenal, nailing a pair of three-pointers. In 68 previous career games, she had been 2 of 13 from long range. The Mukilteo, Wash., native grabbed four of her rebounds on the offensive end and always seemed to be around the ball in the key, late-game situations.

The Seawolves and Hawks will play again Thursday at the WFSC. Tip-off is 7 p.m. AST (9 p.m. Pacific).

East County Sports.com
POINT LOMA (11-13-05) -- Playing a pair of NAIA nationally ranked opponents over the weekend, San Diego Chrisitan College earned a split at the Point Loma Nazarene Tip-Off Tournament.

On Friday, the Hawks fell to No. 17 Westminster (Utah), 80-61, then bounced back Saturday to outlast No. 23 Holy Names, 78-67.

SDCC stayed with Westminster's Griffins for a half tied at 27-27, but the Hawks shot a mere 32 percent in the second half, missing all 10 of its shots from beyond the 3-point arc. JEREMIAH TRUEMAN paced the Hawks with 19 points and eight rebounds, while BRETT TOMPKINS scored 13 points.

Against Holy Names, SDCC defeated a team which already downed a pair of Golden State Athletic Conference opponents in Vanguard and The Master's. LAWRENCE WALKER poured in 20 points -- one of five Hawks to score in double figures -- to offset the 25 points from HNU's Marshal Hartman.

ROWAN GRAY produced a double-double for the Hawks with 13 points and 10 rebounds, as SDCC survived severe foul trouble, as four Hawks finished with four fouls while another fouled out.

The Hawks (2-1) travel to Portland, Ore., this weekend for a pair of non-conference games against Multnomah Bible and Concordia (Ore.).

Special to East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (11-6-05) -- Senior guard TYLER HAYES poured in a game-high 23 points, lifting San Diego Christian College past 16th-ranked St. Xavier (IL), 69-64, in Saturday's (Nov. 5) season opener at Ryan Center.

The game was the first of three straight against teams ranked in the NAIA Top 25 for the Hawks (20-12 last season), who are listed among the honorable mention. SDCC will meet No. 17 Westminster (UT) and No. 23 (Div. II) Holy Names at the Point Loma Nazarene Tournament this weekend.

Hayes, who led the Hawks with a 14.5 scoring average last season, was assisted by LAWRENCE WALKER, an NCCAA All-America performer in 2004-05, who added 13 points and six assists.

Meanwhile, newcomer DREW SANCHEZ dished out four assists and pulled down eight rebounds for the Hawks. Senior guard Jason Reiter led St. Xavier (1-1; 30-7 last year) with 17 points.

The Hawks defense forced 17 turnovers and converted them into 19 points. The Cougars out-rebounded the Hawks, 41-34, with the help of 15 boards by Jabari Saunders. St. Xavier entered the contest following Thurday's (Nov. 3) 70-60 exhibition loss at San Diego State after opening the season with an easy win over Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada), 102-50.

Hawks outside hitter Maggie McGill takes the feed from setter Sarah Lewis (9) on a quick set to beat the defense in a recent match. (SDCC courtesy photo).

Hawks set records via massive turnaround

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (10-20-05) -- Less than 24 hours after falling due to numerous spiking errors, the San Diego Christian College women's volleyball team moved back on track with its offense -- in record-setting fashion, too.

The Hawks set a pair of school marks with their offense, whipping Tennessee Wesleyan in Wednesday's (Oct. 19) non-conference triumph at Ryan Center. Not only did SDCC sweep the Bulldogs in straight sets, 30-11, 30-19, 30-11, the team completed the blowout in records time, needing just 65 minutes to dispose of the visitors from Athens, Tenn.

"We play in the Golden State Athletic Conference, which is the best conference in America besides Division I," noted Hawks outside hitter MAGGIE McGIL, who hails from La Mesa. "So forTennessee Wesleyan, playing us must have been an eye-opener for them."

McGill spiked at a career-best 47.4 percent, matching teammate SARA DILLON with 10 kills, while AUNDREA JOHNSTON added nine putaways. The totals led to a school single-game record by hitting at a solid 47.6 percent clip in the Game 1 blowout. Overall, San Diego Christian hit at 40.7 percent for a new standard for a match.

"Really, it was a team effort and we played bery well," added McGill.

Meanwhile, the Bulldgos (2-12 overall) fizzled down the stretch, recording just four kills in the final game, spiking at a negative-30.4 rate after mishitting 11 balls.

San Diego Christian closes the season playing six of seven matches on the road. The last scheduled regular-season home match is a GSAC affair on Wed., Oct. 25th at 7 p.m. against Concordia.

SDCC middle blocker Aundrea Johnston set a personal-best with 21 kills against Hope International earlier this season (SDCC courtesy photo).

Spiking errors doom SDCC to Sea Lions

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (10-19-05) -- San Diego Christian College middle blocker AUNDREA JOHNSTON tied for the match high with 13 kills, but the Hawks committed hitting errors totals that reached double figures in the final two games, preventing a comeback in falling to crosstown rival Point Loma Nazarene in Tuesday's (Oct. 18) Golden State Athletic Conference volleyball match at Ryan Center.

Many of the errors occurred early in the second set, when the Sea Lions burst to a quick 10-1 advantage. And when SDCC (2-10 overall) spiked at a negative percentage in the third game, Point Loma Nazarene (5-8) was able to easily close out the match.

SDCC also received 10 kills from MAGGIE McGILL, while SARA DILLON posted nine. Kate Alderson powered PLNU with 13 kills.

The Hawks return home at 7 p.m. tonight (Wed., Oct. 19) for a non-conference affair with Tennessee Wesleyan before closing out the season playing six of seven matches on the road.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (10-16-05) -- Nothing seems to deter the San Diego Christian College women's volleyball team of late, even facing defending NAIA national champion and third-ranked Cal Baptist. The Hawks hung tough in each of Saturday's games before the Lancers finally pulled away for a three-game sweep, 30-23, 30-21, 31-29, at Ryan Center.

Depending on your point of view, the results was either surprising and unsurprising.

A month ago in Riverside, Cal Baptist whipped the Hawks without much effort, utilizing its second unit throughout the Golden State Athletic Conference match. However, these were not the same group of Hawks, working hard to match the Lancers block for block.

"We're still a growing, young team," explained junior outside hitter MAGGIE McGILL, who once played at Ryan Center as a member of Chrisitan High's volleyball team. "We had no preseason schedule and went right into conference still learning to play on the court with each other."

San Diego Christian was tied or ahead at the mdiway point in each set, but the talented Cal Baptist outside hitters, including sisters Angela Willis and Verania Willis of Puerto Rico, plus Yudelka Bonilla from the Dominican Republic, wore down the smaller SDCC defenders down the stretch despite changes in the Hawks alignment.

“We used a new rotation, a different defense and stepped it up because we Wanted to play with them,” noted senior SARA DILLON, who will graduate in December with a degree in psychology. “It was awesome for them to call a timeout with their starting lineup in.”

The Hawks received extra incentive after hearing several of the Lancers make fun of the team following the first match.”

“They said we couldn’t block them,” noted middle-blocker AUNDREA JOHNSTON, who paced SDCC with 11 kills. “They’re deep and have a lot of international players, but we showed that we can play with them.”

Johnston is the Hawks’ top threat at the net, ranking in the GSAC top ten in spiking at 3.36 kills per game and 15th in blocking. And she almost ended-up playing with the Lancers.

“Cal Baptist actually offered me a scholarship out of high school,” said Johnston, who prepped at Hilltop High. “But I wanted to stay in San Diego, but then I tried out for Point Loma (Nazarene), but they didn’t want me.”

San Diego Christian (when the school was still known as Christian Heritage College) was unknown to Johnston until she started attending services at Shadow Mountain Community Church.

“That was the first time I ever heard of the school,” she recalled. “That’s when I met the (previous) coach and was asked to join the team.”

Following a 1-7 start, the Hawks (3-9 overall, 2-9 GSAC) have now captured two of their last five matches. Cal Baptist is now 20-2 (12-1 GSAC), as Bonilla led the match with 16 kills.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (9-12-05) – Former All-Americans Sarah Cisneros and Carlos Calderson have been tabbed to bolster their former teams as head coaches for the upcoming fall season at San Diego Christian College. Cisneros, who helped the Hawks to NCCAA national titles in 1996 and 1999, was named to head the women's volleyball program, while Calderson, who briefly played for the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer, will guide the men's soccer program.

Cisneros was a dominant middle hitter from 1996-99, when the college was known as Christian Heritage College. During her collegiate years, Cisneros was an All-American and an NCCAA All-Nationals Tournament selection, while also spearheading the Hawks to an NAIA National Tournament appearance in 1998. She also played basketball at CHC before graduating in 2000. Currently, Cisneros is a math teacher at Castle Park High School in Chula Vista.

Calderson, a talented center-midfielder, was the school's first men's soccer All-American, leading the Hawks to their first NCCAA National Tournament appearance. After graduation, Calderson played professionally with several teams, including the San Diego Sockers and Monterrey Fury (indoors), and with the San Diego Flash and a cup of coffee with the Galaxy (outdoors).

He played an important role in a U.S. Open Cup game, when the Division II Flash led the Galaxy for more than 80 minutes before falling, 4-3, to the Galaxy. However, the Los Angeles coaching staff was impressed enough to invite him to camp, elevating his playing stature into a 6-year career.

In addition, the San Diego Christian announced a slight change to its school colours, altering from royal blue to navy blue as its uniform base, with trim colours switching from gold to both sand and teal.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (7-9-05) -- To the surprise of no one, JERRY HUSON, the new president of San Diego Christian College (formerly Christian Heritage College), made his first priority to the athletics department by adding baseball to the school's sports roster. It will be the first spring-season sport offered by the school, but will not begin play until the 2007 season.

"There are still a lot of issues to be determined, such as where we're going to play, but we'll have time to sort them out once we hire a head coach," said JACKIE ARMSTRNG, the college's Associate Athletic Director.

Huson, who formerly coached the Christian High baseball varsity in the 1980s, is currently advertising for a head baseball coach. Armstrong indicated the Hawjs may well add women's softball to the lineup in 2007, with both immediately joining the Golden State Athletic Conference.

If the fields currently utilized by Christian High are unavailable or don't meet NCAA specifications, the Hawks could host games at nearby Granite Hills High (like Christian High does for football), or play at Grossmont College, where the basketball teams first played before the Ryan Athletics Center was constructed.

Huson is expected to comment officially next week; he is currently out of town in the process of moving his family back to the East County.

SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN COLLEGE "HAWKS"
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NAIA: Ranked 14th in the Nation

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