ANTELOPE VALLEY COLLEGE NOTEBOOK: AVC'S WOES MULTIPLYING.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Daily News Staff Writer

From a snowball to an avalanche.

That's how coach Newton Chelette describes the latest catastrophe for Antelope Valley College's men's basketball team.

The Marauders lost three straight games by a combined 16 points, thanks mainly to miserable free throw shooting. That didn't matter Monday night at Bakersfield, which handed the Marauders a 65-48 whipping.

AVC (4-8) shot just 25 percent from the floor, including 21 percent in the first half.

``I don't know what's wrong. I think we're getting the shots we want but they're not falling,'' Chelette said. ``My biggest concern right now is we've lost our confidence.''

Team morale is indeed a problem. Freshman forward Jeronne Saxton, the Marauders' leading rebounder, has simply not shown up since being named to the all-tournament team at AVC's McDonald's Tournament on Dec. 6.

``He's AWOL,'' Chelette said. ``Anybody on a football team or basketball team or whatever that just quits on his teammates isn't worth a breath of comment.''

It doesn't get any easier for a program looking to improve on a nine-year streak of winning 20 or more games.

The Marauders travel to the College of the Sequoias tournament beginning Friday. Their bracket includes a Monterey Peninsula team that won 20 games and beat AVC in the same tournament in Visalia last year. And a state-ranked Porterville team would probably get the winner of that matchup.

Must see T.V.: Now the rest of the country can see what San Diego State already knows: John Burrell can score.

The reigning Foothill Conference MVP for the Marauders has been a big hit at Nevada. Though the Wolf Pack's record is just 2-3 entering Thursday's 9 p.m. ESPN matchup with No. 7 Stanford, Burrell is making an early statement for being the Big West Conference's top rookie.

The 6-foot-3 Highland High product has failed to score at least 20 points only once, when he was held to nine in Nevada's 70-56 loss at Baylor on Dec. 5. But he's put up 20 points two times, 21 another time and his career-high 22 last Wednesday in Nevada's second win over San Diego State this season.

Burrell is averaging 18.4 points in 31 minutes a game.

Add alumni: Michael Hamelin, like Burrell one of five straight AVC conference MVP's (1997), is averaging 12 points and 6.3 assists at Division II West Texas A&M. He's hit on 50 percent (13 of 26) of his 3-point attempts. He has 51 assists against just 18 turnovers.

Football: Sophomore defensive lineman Ashor Valibaba, one of the anchors of a strong AVC defense, was named the Marauders' team MVP at the postseason banquet on Sunday afternoon.

The rest of the awards went like this: outstanding offensive lineman: Chris Castillo; outstanding offensive back: Travis Alkire; outstanding special teams player: Sal Iabichella; most inspirational: Steve Kadivar.

Outstanding defensive lineman: Valibaba; outstanding defensive back: Bobby Ante; most improved: Monte Gutowski; outstanding freshman lineman: David Gibson; outstanding offensive back: Alkire; Jack Strait Memorial Award: Castillo; academic achievement award: Jason Boyett; captain award: James Juneay and Gary Hardy; Big Hitter Award: Gibson.