MO NDAY, M ARCH 10, 2014 + VOLU M E 24. IS S U E 12
NEWS
FEATURE
SPORTS
Instructor survives violent theft
Panther Express and “Sneakerheads”
Chaffey Baseball honors fellow player
Panthers make run at state finals Chaffey Hustlin’ Panthers win two nail-biters, advance ROBERT SCHMITT The 2013-’14 version of the Men’s Panther Basketball team had high expectations to live up to from last year’s team. The 2012-’13 team won the Foothill Conference and finished as the runner up to Mt. SAC in the state finals. The only returning starter from last year’s team is one Adom Jacko (pronounced Autumn). Chaffey’s run to return to the state finals and to improve on last year’s second place finish began by placing in the top two of the Foothill Conference. The Panthers were last year’s conference winners and were in a good position to make it backto-back conference titles for the first time since the 2004-’05 and 2005-’06 seasons. A conference showdown between San Bernardino Valley College on Feb. 19, in which Chaffey lost 68-56, meant Chaffey had to settle for a second place finish in the Foothill Conference. This guaranteed them a trip to postseason. After the tough loss to SBVC, Coach Jeff Klein said, “We need to improve on our toughness down the stretch.” Point Guard Julian Nichols shared the same sentiment when he said, “We have to make better decisions in the last eight minutes.” Both coach and player foresaw the importance of winning close games come playoff time. ...story continued on page 7.
One Book, One College Program brings to life the art of veterans BREE PETERSON Adom Jacko dunks the ball in Chaffey’s home game against San Diego City College on March 1.
MICHELLE MENES
Lady Panthers’ season comes to a finish ROBERT SCHMITT After a sensational, come from behind victory against No. 11 Irvine Valley College on March 1, the Lady Panthers fell to No. 3 seed L.A. Valley in the third round on March 5. Irvine Valley suited up eight players, all playing extensive minutes. Chaffey clearly wanted to take advantage of this by forcing an uptempo game. They got one, but it was not to their advantage in the first half. The Panthers forced 20 turnovers in the
first half and two players, Taylor Casey and Breanna Turner, played all 20 minutes for IVC. However, seven Chaffey players combined to go 0-12 from the three point line. For a team that averages 33 points a game from behind the arc, it was devastating. “I think it had a lot to do with it being our first playoff game and having a lot of jitters that we needed to get out,” Moore said of the poor shooting. The combination of poor shooting and defensive mishaps put the Panthers in a 12-
25 hole with 6:40 left in the first half when coach Plunkett called a time-out. Plunkett drew up a play that got Windom open for an easy basket, shifting momentum. Chaffey was not ready to abandon their strategy for the second half, nor were they ready for their season to be done just yet. They kept up the intense pressure that forced so many turnovers in the first half and forced another 22 in the second. ...story continued on page 7.
The One Book, One college program is hosting an art exhibit called The Art of War on March 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m, in the CAA Student Gallery. There will be spoken word, art and music from the veterans of Chaffey College and Mil-Tree. Mil-Tree, the foundation that helped bring the documentary “Generation of War” to life, is partnering with the One Book, One College program to heal veterans through the arts. The foundation is based in Joshua Tree. “It’s very important to welcome our veterans home more profoundly. I feel strongly about this,” the founder of the organization, Cheryl Montelle, said. For more information, visit Mil-Tree’s Facebook page at facebook.com/Mil-Tree.