CSUN Hurt by Second-Half Lapse, 75-62

Before the 1985-86 basketball season even began, Cal State Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy had a feeling this might be his most frustrating season in 20 years. He had lost seven of his top eight players, and those remaining on the team were inexperienced.

CSUN’s game Saturday night against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, a 75-62 loss, brought no relief. The Matadors fell to 8-11, 1-6 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. and with half the CCAA season left to play, the Matadors are, more or less, out of contention.

Cal Poly SLO (16-4, 6-1 in league) was coming off a win over Cal State L. A., considered by many to be the best team in the conference, on Friday night.

It is clear that CSUN is not among the best.

“We played well for 20 minutes,” Cassidy said. “Then I don’t know what happened.”

The game was close until the Mustangs managed a 10-2 run early in the second half and CSUN couldn’t catch up.

With CSUN trailing, 36-34, Cassidy was hit with a technical. Cal Poly guard James Wells made both free throws, and the Mustangs were on their way.

Normally Cassidy is mild-mannered. In fact, before this season he hadn’t picked up a technical since 1981. But disputes between Cassidy and officials has become common this year. The technical foul Saturday night was the turning point in the game.

“All I said was ‘why’ after a foul had been called,” Cassidy said. “We played well, but it was a shame. The ref was vindictive. He was laughing at us out there.

“We took good shots. We played smart. It was a great game until that point.”

Four CSUN players fouled out.

The game started like a game of H-O-R-S-E between CSUN’s Jimmy Daniels and Cal Poly’s Sean Chambers.

Daniels, a 6-3 forward, made a baseline jumper and then went inside for another basket. CSUN led, 5-2.

But Chambers, like Daniels, a 6-3 forward, scored the Mustangs’ next seven points.

First Chambers hit a jumper and was fouled. His free throw tied the score at five. He scored again after grabbing an offensive rebound. Next time up the court, Chambers was fouled and converted both foul shots.

Not to be outdone, Daniels hit two quick shots, the latter coming from deep in the right corner. The Matadors trailed, 11-9.

With 13 minutes left in the half, CSUN reserve center James Carr rebounded a miss, threw an outlet pass to Pat Bolden, who was fouled as he drove to the basket. Ordinarily, no big deal. But it was one of the few times this season CSUN has even attempted to fastbreak.

You knew the Matadors were feeling better in the first half, at least on the offensive end, than they had since league play began.

In recent games, CSUN has had trouble scoring in the first half. Friday night against Cal State Bakersfield, the Matadors managed just 13 points in the opening 20 minutes. They were held to just one basket in a 13-minute span in that game.

Clearly, for Cassidy, a fastbreak was heart-warming indeed.

But all that changed into heartburn on the next play.

Mustang center Jim Van Winden scored inside, was fouled and then completed the three-point play.

San Luis Obispo held a four-point lead until midway through the half when Troy Dueker and Bolden hit two free throws each.

Chambers, who scored 15 in the half, completed another three-point play after Van Winden made two foul shots. CSUN fell behind by five.

But Daniels, who had 12 in the first half, hit another shot deep in the corner. And Mark Centers scored a basket after an offensive rebound, then hit two free throws. CSUN led, 22-21.

Centers had been a seldom-used forward until this game. But Cassidy was impressed with Centers’ defensive play the night before against Bakersfield.

Against Cal Poly, Centers played 24 minutes and scored eight points and generally played well.

As did the Matadors until the early part of the second half.