COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : Northridge’s Rivalry With Bakersfield Is a Knock-Down, Drag-Out Hit

In case you missed it, the Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team slugged it out with Cal State Bakersfield in a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. game last week. It wasn’t as much a basketball game as it was a riot.

The first evidence of trouble took place only three minutes into the game when Bakersfield guard Leonard Brown was hit with a technical foul. At that point, words and glares were exchanged between players.

The game got out of control with 8:52 left in the first half when Jimmy Daniels of Northridge was bumped by Mario Williams of Bakersfield. Daniels and Williams grabbed each other’s throats and fell to the floor, flopping around like a couple of carp.

Both benches cleared, and a rugby scrum piled up at midcourt, but no punches were thrown.

Five minutes later, reserve center James Hecht of Northridge caught an elbow in the face and was down for five minutes before he wobbled off the court.

Hecht was taken to the Northridge Hospital Medical Center and later released. He suffered a mild concussion. Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said Hecht is still experiencing headaches and a stiff neck.

Midway through the second half, Paul Phifer of Bakersfield straight-armed Pat Bolden of CSUN as he drove to the basket. Bolden fell hard, but was not hurt.

Four minutes later, CSUN’s James Carr and Jeff Hughes of Bakersfield got tangled up and Carr rose up swinging. With Hughes and Carr throwing jabs, the benches cleared again. Players and coaches were running all over the court. When order was restored, Hughes and Carr were ejected.

Northridge lost the game, 64-53.

Said Cassidy: “The problems stemmed from last year. After our game at Bakersfield, they made all kinds of comments as we were getting in our van. The year before, one of the van’s tires was flat.

“But our team this year is a completely different crew. I don’t know why Bakersfield acted that way. One of their players threatened one of ours before the game started.”

CSUN travels to Bakersfield in two weeks. “We’ll go to play basketball,” Cassidy said. “We won’t be intimidated. But we won’t be looking for any punch outs.”

Add Northridge: After winning seven of its first 10 games, CSUN has dropped eight of its last nine. The Matadors are 8-11 overall, 1-6 in the CCAA, and chances of making the league’s postseason tournament are dim.

Said Cassidy: “We have to be realistic about our playoff aspirations. I told the team they should practice hard every day and play to win. Just because there’s no trophy for you, you don’t go half-assed.

“I think they understood.”

Northridge baseball Coach Terry Craven is optimistic after watching the Matadors open their season with wins over Cal State Long Beach and Azusa Pacific. CSUN scored 34 runs in the two games and collected 41 hits.

“Obviously, you don’t expect to score that many runs,” Craven said. “But we had legitimate, well-hit balls. It wasn’t a fluke. You don’t expect that to go on forever, but we’ll take it.”

Against Azusa, first baseman John Balfanz hit three home runs, tying a CSUN record, drove in six runs and scored three times. He also doubled.

The Matadors are ranked second in the NCAA Division II by Collegiate Baseball magazine. “We have some good players, that’s my feeling, but they have to prove that,” Craven said. “It’s only two games.

“But the wins proved to the guys that they are capable of winning. We have so many young players--they now know they can do this. Hopefully, though, they won’t get cocky.”

College of the Canyons’ Vincent Ray, who averaged 27 points in two games last week and has scored more than 25 points in each of his last six games, is the Mountain Valley Conference player of the week.

Ray, a 6-3 forward from Grant High, is averaging 27 points a game this season. Wednesday, Ray had an off night, scoring 20 points in Canyons’ 99-95 loss to L. A. Southwest. He also leads the Cougars in rebounding with a 7.0 average.