VU men continue to impress

Barry’s colleges columnThe women’s team, ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, gets most of the fanfare, but the Vanguard University men’s basketball team is earning some distinction of its own this season.

The Lions (16-9, 10-5 in the Golden State Athletic Conference) enter tonight’s GSAC contest at Westmont tied with the Warriors for third place in the rugged 11-team conference.

Seniors Levi Seekins and Horace Wormley have helped the Lions win seven of their last eight games, including a Jan. 24 upset at Azusa Pacific, ranked No. 3 in the NAIA.

Vanguard has climbed to the No. 16 NAIA ranking and should be a dangerous squad in the upcoming GSAC Tournament.

Seekins, a 6-6 forward, is averaging 16.2 points and 6.5 rebounds. Noted for his relentless work ethic and competitive zeal, there are times when he has willed his team to victory.

In a double-overtime road win over Cal Baptist on Jan. 19, Seekins scored all nine Vanguard points in the second overtime to key a 73-71 verdict.

In the aforementioned upset at APU, his layup with one second left in regulation forced the extra session. He then netted a pair of three-pointers in overtime to key an 81-80 victory.

Wormley, a 5-6 guard who along with Seekins has started all 25 games this season, is contributing 15 points, 6.9 assists and a surprising 4.7 rebounds per contest.

Another strength for the Lions is a balanced perimeter attack. Five players have made between 35 and 42 three-pointers this season.

Wormley leads the pack with 42, followed by Seekins and junior guard Kevin Dalafu (38), sophomore forward Greg Gusiff (37) and sophomore guard Brian Roberts (35). Dalafu is shooting 51.4% from beyond the arc (38 of 74).

* Don’t look now, but the UC Irvine women’s basketball team has put together a three-game Big West Conference winning streak to climb within striking distance of third-place Cal State Fullerton.

The Anteaters (7-16, 5-6 in conference) are now fifth in the eight-team standings as they embark on a two-game road trip to UC Santa Barbara (Thursday) and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Saturday).

Cal Poly (10-10, 5-4) begins the week one game ahead of UCI, while Cal State Fullerton (9-13, 6-4) sits in third, behind second-place UCSB (6-2 in the Big West) and Long Beach State (8-2 in conference).

* Though the UCI men’s basketball team appears to have blown its chance for the conference title by losing twice at home last week to the Central Coast schools, the Anteaters can still secure the valuable second-place spot with a win Wednesday over visiting UC Riverside and one more loss by Cal Poly.

The No. 2 Big West Tournament seeding would mean a guaranteed spot in the semifinals for Coach Pat Douglass’ squad.

* It’s only seven games, but some trends -- good and bad -- are emerging for the UC Irvine baseball team, which is 4-3 after dropping 2 of 3 at Hawaii over the weekend.

First the good. Junior shortstop Chad Lundahl leads the club with a .417 batting average (10 for 24), well above his .216 showing last season.

Further, the Anteater pitching staff has a 3.23 earned-run average, thanks largely to the work of freshman Scott Gorgen and junior Gary Nakashima.

Gorgen, the Saturday starter, is 2-0 and has allowed just four hits and no earned runs in 14 innings.

Nakashima has not allowed an earned run in 9 1/3 innings.

Conversely, junior starter Justin Cassel and junior closer Blair Erickson have struggled. Cassel has an 8.00 ERA in nine innings and Erickson’s ERA is 6.75 in 2 2/3 innings.

Coach Dave Serrano’s ‘Eaters are hitting just .240 as a team and only 14 of their 50 hits are for extra bases, including no home runs.

Against their first two Friday night starters, UCI has a combined two hits, one earned run and 16 strikeouts over 13 1/3 innings.20060214h272nzke(LA)