CS Northridge Warms to to the Occasion, Defeats Cal State L.A., 71-64

When things heated up Friday night in the ice box that was the Cal State Northridge gymnasium, the Matadors found a couple of cool customers to put their conference opener on ice.

Paul Drecksel and Jimmy Daniels made the big plays down the stretch as the Matadors held off a late surge to defeat Cal State Los Angeles, 71-64, in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. opener for both teams.

“They had the gumption to withstand it, tighten up their belts and stick with it,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said. “They knew what to do.”

Although the heat was turned off in the gym because of maintenance work, Cal State L.A. turned warmed things up midway through the second half with a tenacious full-court press and trapping half-court defense.

Before then, CSUN appeared to have the game well in hand. The Matadors led 38-30 at halftime, and built a 50-34 advantage with 13 minutes to play.

But the Golden Eagles (5-7) came clawing back behind center James Stewart and guard David Gray to close to within 55-47 with 8:35 left.

That’s when Drecksel took over at both ends of the court. The 6-4 senior guard, who led all scorers with 26 points, scored 13 points in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds.

With the Matadors on the verge of collapse, Drecksel grabbed key rebound after key rebound and put in several big baskets. His steal under the CSUN basket and subsequent reverse layup put the Matadors (5-9) ahead, 60-49 with 4:21 to play.

Then it was Daniels’ turn. The 6-3 senior scored six of CSUN’s next nine points, hitting four of four free throws and an outside jumper to put the Matadors up 69-61. He finished with 10 points.

Forward Ray Horwath added 14 points and six rebounds to the CSUN cause, but had just one point in the second half.

The Golden Eagles drew to within 69-64 in the final minute, but no closer.

Pressure defense has been a problem all season for Northridge. The Matadors committed 20 turnovers Friday, 12 in the second half.

“We go seven against five in practice and create all kinds of drills in practice to create the types of situations we’ll see in the games,” Cassidy said.

Overall, however, the Northridge coach was pleased with his team’s effort.

“They were ready to play,” Cassidy said. “They came out mentally sharp. They prepared themselves to play.”

Cal State Los Angeles was led by Gray, who came off the bench to score 15 points, including three of five shots from three-point range. Forward Curtiss Bradley chipped in with 12 points for the Golden Eagles.

In the women’s game, Northridge (8-6) opened CCAA play with a 68-57 victory over Cal State L.A.

Forward Denise Sitton led the Lady Matadors with 27 points and 13 rebounds, moving her into third place on the all-time CCAA scoring list. Julie Middleton added 17 points and Kathleen Dixon had 10.

Northridge won the game at the free throw line, making 20 of 23 attempts. Sitton was 9 of 10 from the free throw line.

Geri Montanio led CSLA (10-4) with 15 points.