Riverside Beats CSUN With Height

About a week ago, Cal State Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy was asked why coaches had made UC Riverside a unanimous choice to win the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. basketball championship.

He had a one-word answer: “Talent.” And he said the same thing Friday night after Northridge lost to 13th-ranked Riverside, 67-61, before a capacity crowd of 1,400 at Highlander gym.

“They are extremely talented,” Cassidy said. “And they have those two big kids inside that we find very difficult to match up against.”

The two players Cassidy was referring to are 6-9 center Paul Kapturkiewicz and 6-7 forward Robert Jimerson, who combined for 34 points and 22 rebounds.

Northridge (5-10, 1-1 in the CCAA) simply didn’t have anyone tall enough to consistently contend with Kapturkiewicz, or quick enough to stay with Jimerson.

Todd Bowser and Ray Horwath, the Northridge players who drew the dubious assignments of guarding Riverside’s top two players, both had good games for the Matadors.

Bowser, a 6-7, 270-pound freshman, scored 11 points and had 10 rebounds. Horwath had 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Riverside (12-3, 2-0) led by as many as 10 points in the early going but didn’t score in the last 3:24 of the first half or the first 2:35 of the second half. When Bowser hit a hook shot and made a free throw for a three-point play with 17:02 left, the Matadors took a 34-33 lead.

The Highlanders responded by scoring their next six times down the floor, however, as Kapturkiewicz, who scored a game-high 19, made three shots from close range.

Northridge used the three-point shooting of Paul Drecksel and Jimmy Daniels to stay close. Drecksel, who had 15 points, was 3 of 6 in three-point attempts, while Daniels, who scored 16, was 2 of 3. Riverside went 0 for 3 in its attempts.

The Matadors were better off shooting from long range. Northridge made only 16 of 52 of its two-point attempts.

Northridge played without starting point guard Troy Dueker in the second half. Dueker suffered an allergy attack during the first half and had difficulty breathing.

In the women’s game, 14th-ranked Riverside defeated Northridge, 59-55.

Northridge (8-7, 1-1 in the CCAA) held a 24-22 advantage at the half, but was outscored 12-2 in the first five minutes of the second half.

Riverside (10-4, 1-1) led by as many as eight points before freshman Kathleen Dixon played the Lady Matadors back into the game.

Dixon scored six of her game-high 21 points during a minute and a half stretch and gave Northridge the lead, 51-50, by making a five-footer with 5:02 left.

Riverside immediately retook the lead, but Northridge stayed close. The Lady Matadors had a chance to send the game into overtime, but Vicki Mallett missed a jumper from inside the key with four seconds left. She then fouled Riverside’s Debbie Arnold, who made two free throws to seal the win.