"When I was recruiting Iona (senior center Enosa) in American Samoa, I was also very interested in Pu'lasi," said Wagner. "They had played on the same high school team and Pu'lasi was the star. No one seemed to know where he was."
Ironically, Matavao was in Utah, hoping to play for BYU-Provo. Play volleyball, that is.
"I'm a better volleyball player than a basketball player," said Matavao, the island MVP in both basketball and volleyball as a high school junior and senior. "I knew I could play college volleyball, but I didn't think I could play basketball. Basketball was a sport I stumbled onto and didn't know how good I could get."
Fate - and low SAT scores - had Matavao heading toward the pro beach volleyball circuit. He had lined up a partner and sponsors when Wagner finally tracked him down.
"I was surprised that he wanted me," said Matavao, who has twice been named the HIAC player of the week this season. "But this is not such a bad tradeoff. It's the best thing that could have happened."
You'll get no argument from Wagner, or the 11th-ranked Seasiders (11-3). Matavao is second on the team in scoring (13.9 ppg), rebounding (7.7) and steals.
"Pu'lasi is really athletic, jumps very well and is very quick," said Wagner. "His skill level is not real high but he works hard and keeps improving.
"I really like his intensity level and how he plays defense. He handles the ball well, especially for his size, and that nice little hook shot of his is hard to defend."
At 215 pounds, the 25-year-old Matavao is a force that complements the game of the 6-10, 250-pound Enosa, his former teammate at Tafuna High. A self-made player who fine-tuned his game by watching college basketball on television, the left-handed Mata-vao is still learning the sport.
"The hardest adjustment was learning to play the right way," said the physical education major. "I've struggled with the level of competition and the level of training and maintaining my fitness level. Back home, we didn't train that hard. They gave us the ball and told us to play.
"What I 'd like to do after I graduate is go back home to Samoa to coach and teach. I want to give to the kids what I didn't have."
Matavao still has thoughts of playing pro volleyball. But he'd like to see his team go further in the NAIA national tournament than last year; the Seasiders were eliminated in the second round.
"The key to this team is that we have a lot of experience," said Matavao. "We've got good balance and we're much quicker. Last year, most of the guys were new and didn't know the system or their roles.
"We have a good chance at going again (to the national tournament). But we need to bounce back from last week's losses, learn to be tougher and start putting games away early."
Hawaii Pacific (14-2) remained at sixth following a split on the road with the same two teams.
BYUH (12-3) reached the 100-point plateau for the third time this season.
BYUH season scoring leader Ionatana Enosa (16.9 ppg) played with a heavily bandaged face after receiving six stitches between the eyes in last week's game against Western Washington. He scored only nine points in 22 minutes.
Chapman: Sverkos 8-13 4-7 21, Mitchell 4-8 0-0 11, Curto 4-9 0-0 8, Coulter 0-1 0-1 0, Bergerson 1-1 1-2 3, Crooks 2-2 0-2 4, Powell 5-14 1-2 12, Klinke 2-2 0-0 4, Evans 2-6 3-5 7, Weitala 0-0 2-3 2, Aguilera 0-0 2-4 2. Totals 28-56 13-26 74.
BYUH: Friupp 1-2 01 3, Smith 4-4 3-7 11, Alves 2-3 0-0 6, Boyce 0-1 4-5 4, Akana 5-6 0-0-0 12, Enosa 4-7, 1-6 9, Bates 4-7 5-6 13, Barton 2-2 0-0 5, Boberg 2-5 0-0 4, Thomas 3-6 1-1 7, Isom 3-3 1-2 7, Matavao 9-10 1-2 19, Throckmorton 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 39-57 16-30 100.
Halftime-BYUH 53, Chapman 33.
3-point goals-Chapman 5-10 (Mitchell 3-5, Sverkos 1-1, Powell 1-3, Evans 0-1), BYUH 6-9 (Akana 2-3, Alves 2-3, Fripp 1-1, Barton 1-1, Boyce 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Chapman 19 (Evans 4, Sverkos 3) BYUH 36 (Enosa 6, Isom, Matavao 5) Assists-Chapman 11 (Evans 3), BYUH 23 (Fripp 8). Total fouls-Chapman 19, BYUH 19. A-800.