Family divides to unite

Colleges column for Jan 31 editionMitch and Barbara Cook will take a layered approach to tonight’s Vanguard-Biola men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader at Vanguard.

During the 5:30 p.m. women’s contest, they’ll wear their Vanguard colors, cheering on daughter Melissa, a sophomore super sub for the unbeaten Lions, ranked No. 1 in NAIA Division I.

But soon after the women’s game concludes, they’ll shed their Vanguard gear to reveal an opposing allegiance for the 7:30 men’s clash, required by the presence of son Mitch in the Biola starting lineup.

“We change sides and we change shirts,” Barbara said of her family’s dual fandom. ‘It’s pretty fun.”

It’s an easy call for the Cook parents and, ultimately for Melissa and Kevin, who shamelessly -- though sometimes sheepishly -- root against their school in favor of their sibling.

“After my game, I’ll got the Biola side and root for them,” said Melissa, whose Vanguard loyalty was interrupted when the Lions and Eagles squared off in a Golden State Athletic Conference doubleheader Dec. 3 in La Mirada. “Some of my teammates give me a little bit of a hard time and some of the guys on the [Vanguard] team were like ‘Hey, you’re on the wrong side,’ ” Melissa said. “But family comes first.”

Basketball has also come first for the Cook family, Mitch said.

“I played at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which is where I met Barbara,” Mitch said. “We have four kids and all of them have played. My oldest daughter played at El Dorado High.”

Melissa and Kevin also played at El Dorado, where Nathan, the youngest sibling, is a junior in his second season on the Hawks’ varsity squad.

“We played three-on-three in the driveway every Father’s Day,” Mitch said. “I guarded Kevin, Melissa guarded her sister and Barbara would guard Kevin. But we had to stop when Kevin got to the eighth grade. It started getting a little too competitive.”

Melissa said she and Kevin grew up playing one-on-one and H-O-R-S-E, though she never once claimed victory.

Melissa, a versatile, talented and selfless 6-foot guard/forward who is averaging 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds this season, might have the edge when it comes to team bragging rights. The Vanguard women are 18-0, 11-0 in conference, and defeated Biola, 79-43, earlier this season. Melissa had 14 points in that game.

Kevin, a 6-2 guard, is averaging 6.2 points and 2.7 rebounds for the Eagles (14-7, 6-5). The Biola men defeated Vanguard, 74-57, in their first meeting this year. Kevin scored 17 in that game.

“It was a good night for both of them [Dec. 3],” Mitch said. “Melissa was 4 for 5 on three-pointers and Kevin went 4 for 4.”

Nathan’s El Dorado team also plays on Tuesday nights, which often creates a logistical challenge for Mitch and Barbara.

“Normally, on Tuesdays, we’ll both go to the 5:30 game, then split up,” Mitch said. “One of us will go to Kevin’s game and one will got to Nathan’s.

All the Cooks usually attend Nathan’s games Friday night, then try as best they can to take follow both Melissa and Kevin on Saturday nights.

Mitch and Barbara also keep everyone informed via cellphones.

“It will be nice [tonight], to be able to see both of them in the same place,” Mitch said.

* The Vanguard women’s team will be back to full strength tonight, which hasn’t been the case for more than a week.

Sophomore star Jessica Richter played just seven minutes in Saturday’s home win over San Diego Christian, due to the lingering effects of a hip bruise sustained in the Jan. 24 win at Azusa Pacific.

Additionally, Coach Russ Davis missed the APU victory. He was hospitalized, he said, with chest pains.

Davis, who has also missed games this season due to back problems and high blood pressure, said he is committed to staying healthy the rest of the season.

“It’s going to involve some lifestyle changes, but I’ve got to do it,” he said. 20060131h272nzke(LA)