College Review / Rick Hazeltine : Success Is Earlier Than Expected at Christian Heritage

SAN DIEGO —  When Jim Huckaby left a highly successful men’s basketball program at Baptist Bible College in Pennsylvania to inaugurate a program at El Cajon’s Christian Heritage College, he knew that someday his teams would be able to play with the best NAIA teams in the nation.

But not now, in the middle of the second year of Christian Heritage’s program--the first intercollegiate program at the school.

Huckaby was wrong.

Christian Heritage’s 92-89 overtime victory Tuesday over Biola College, ranked third in the nation among NAIA schools, showed that the Hawks have arrived even earlier than Huckaby had hoped. The loss was only Biola’s second in 24 games this season, the other being a 66-56 defeat to Occidental on Jan. 13.

“This program is two years ahead of our dreams,” Huckaby said. “We thought it would take three to four years to be as competitive as we are now.”

And the future looks bright. The Hawks start three sophomores and two juniors.

The big boost for Christian Heritage this season has been point guard Mark Kraatz, a transfer who started as a freshman at Illinois State. Kraatz scored 14 points against Biola.

Guards Rundy Foster and William Cunningham played on last year’s team. On Tuesday, Foster had 10 points and Cunningham 15, including a three-pointer with less than 20 seconds remaining to tie the score, 84-84, and send the game into overtime.

Dave Kirksey (6-8), a transfer from Cypress College, gives the Hawks some height inside, which they lacked last season. Kirksey had 22 points against Biola. Junior forward Bill Soucie had 14 points.

One of the keys to the Hawks’ recent success has been the play of guard Dwayne Burton, a junior transfer from Point Loma Nazarene. Burton, who wasn’t eligible until January, had 17 points off the bench against Biola.

“Our patience was probably one of the biggest differences in the game,” Huckaby said. “We just laid it back and tried to stop their inside game. It was a calculated risk on our part by making them take the perimeter shot.”

The Hawks’ less-aggressive defense also meant fewer fouls. Biola was only 2 of 4 from the line. Christian Heritage was 22 of 28, which helped the Hawks overcome a 51-45 halftime deficit.

“That win meant so much to this school,” Huckaby said. “For us it was a David-and-Goliath type of thing--the little new program and the little team.

“At one point in the game, we had four players on the court who were 6-0 and one at 6-5,” Huckaby said. “They hung in there. Those guys worked so very hard.”

The Hawks, now 11-11, were 8-20 their first season, and only one of the teams Christian Heritage defeated is on this season’s schedule.

The victory also puts Christian Heritage in excellent position to make the eight-team NAIA District III championship tournament.

Before the victory over Biola, Christian Heritage was rated seventh among District III schools by the Dunkel rating service, used to help select the eight teams for the tournament. The Dunkel ratings are primarily based on a team’s strength of schedule and performance.

Christian Heritage had a 35.5 rating, just ahead of Point Loma Nazarene (34.2). Biola was the top-ranked team with a 51.3 rating.

Actually, Christian Heritage appeared to be in good shape to make the district tournament early in the season. The Hawks were 6-4, with victories over Chapman College, an NCAA Division II school, and Azusa Pacific, one of the district’s top NAIA teams.

But then came a three-week layoff that Huckaby said contributed to a five-game losing streak. During the streak, which began with a loss to Point Loma Nazarene, Christian Heritage lost twice in overtime and was beaten at the buzzer on a 75-foot shot by Southern California College.

“That long layoff really hurt us,” Huckaby said. “It’s taken us 10 games to get back where we were at the end of the semester.”

Western Kentucky freshman forward Terri Mann, a three-time San Diego Section player of the year at Point Loma High School, successfully underwent surgery Wednesday to replace the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.

Mann will be lost for the remainder of the season and will undergo a rehabilitation program that will last five to six months, said Paul Sanderford, Western Kentucky coach. Sanderford said Mann will wear a brace for six weeks before undergoing therapy.

Mann, who was averaging 12.8 points and 8.3 rebounds, played too many games to redshirt this season.

“I sat in on the arthroscopic surgery Monday and the whole knee was intact,” Sanderford said. “It’s just one of those freaky things that happen in athletics.”

Mann injured her knee when she landed after jumping to deflect a pass in a game against Southern Illinois on Dec. 19. She appeared in four games after that.

“We recommended surgery (to her) right after the injury,” Sanderford said. “But she wanted to try rehabilitation. She was thinking of the Olympic tryouts and possible postseason play. She’s taken it hard, but it’s been a gradual process.”

Western Kentucky started the season ranked No. 13 in the nation. Before Mann’s injury, the Lady Toppers were 7-0. Since the injury, Western Kentucky is 7-5 and has dropped out of the top 20.

The UC San Diego women’s swimming team appears ready to challenge for the national title this year. The Tritons finished third last season and second in 1986 in the Division III national championships. Kenyon College, of Gambier, Ohio, has won four consecutive women’s national titles.

The Tritons are led by three freshmen.

Crystal Konno leads the NCAA Division III in three events. She has the division’s best times in the 200-yard breaststroke (2 minutes 29.29 seconds), 200-yard butterfly (2:09.05) and 200 individual medley (no time available).

Jenna Banaszek has the division’s top times in the 200-yard freestyle (1:56.51), 500-yard free (5:05.11) and 1,000-yard free (no time available). Kristi Parker is second in the division in the 50-yard free (25.00).

The men’s team also has some nationally rated Division III swimmers.

Dave Dolotta leads the division in the 200-yard backstroke (1:58.85), with the only sub-two-minute time. Dolotta is also third in the 500-yard freestyle (4:41.56) and fourth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:42.98).

Steve Denys is second in the 100-yard freestyle (46.88) and sixth in the 50-yard freestyle.

The Triton men’s team was third at last year’s national championships. Kenyon has won the last eight men’s national titles.

Notes Julie Tullberg, a freshman tennis player at San Diego State, has been selected to play in the 1988 Rolex National indoor intercollegiate tennis championships today through Sunday at the University of Minnesota. Tullberg is ranked No. 40 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Assn. . . UC San Diego has named Lisa Bassi and Lin Adams as co-coaches of the women’s softball team. Bassi coached at Huntington Beach High School last year and Adams coached a women’s amateur team in Austin, Tex., from 1982-87. Colleen White, the former coach, is now coach at the University of San Francisco. . . The San Diego State men’s volleyball team moved from eighth to seventh in the Tachikara coaches’ poll after defeating previous No. 4 Hawaii Friday. UC San Diego moved from 18th to 16th after upsetting No. 9 Cal State Northridge.