Bowser Comes Back for Northridge and Wrecks CSLA, 73-51

When word spread early this week that Todd Bowser, Cal State Northridge’s 6-8, 270-pound center, had been injured in a car accident, an often-asked question was, “How is the car that hit him?”

For the record, it’s a mess. But Bowser, who was in his own car at the time, is just fine.

He scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 33 minutes as Northridge defeated Cal State Los Angeles, 73-51, in a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. opener for both teams Friday night at the CSUN gym.

Bowser, who sat out Northridge’s game against Biola on Tuesday, was 6 of 10 from the field, 5 of 5 from the free throw line and said his knee only hurt when he wasn’t playing.

“It hurt a little during warmups, but in the game it didn’t bother me at all,” Bowser said. “I was too keyed up.”

Perhaps, but not half as much as CSUN Coach Pete Cassidy was after the game. Cassidy, who not only bleeds Matador red but also turns a similar shade when upset, was boiling.

“If we’re satisfied with this, it’s going to be a very long year,” Cassidy said.

Did that sound like a man celebrating his 250th college coaching victory with a 22-point blowout?

“I wasn’t very pleased with the whole game,” Cassidy continued. “We played very lethargically. The second half was just ugly.”

Perhaps. But the first half had its moments.

Playing without starting guard Chuck McGavran, who missed the game due to what Cassidy termed, “personal reasons,” Northridge led, 20-16, with 8:39 to play in the first half. Over the next 5:13, however, the Matadors outscored the Eagles, 11-0.

Northridge (9-4) had opened a 20-point lead by halftime, shooting 64% and forcing 13 turnovers.

The shooting percentage was somewhat deceiving in that nine of the Matadors’ 25 attempts were layups.

Cal State L. A., which is down to only nine players due to ineligibility, shot 37.5% in the first half and 42.1% for the game.

Northridge shot only 45.4% in the second half, which Cassidy attributed to poor shot selection and all-around sloppy play.

The Matadors had 20 turnovers, including 12 in the second half. Cal State L. A. had 20.

“At halftime, we talked about not coming out flat,” Bowser said, “but for some reason we didn’t have the killer instinct we had in the first half.”

Pat Bolden scored 16 points, pulling him within eight of cracking Northridge’s top 10 in career scoring. He punctuated his performance with a spectacular steal and slam dunk late in the game.

Guard Jemarl Baker, who missed two practices this week with a stomach flu, played 22 minutes in McGavran’s absence and scored nine points. Forward Ray Horwath also had nine--all in the first half--and passed off for a season-high 10 assists.

Cal State L. A. got 23 points from forward Rhodney Moore, but little else. The Eagles were at their best running and gunning from long range, a style they tried only after the outcome had been settled.

Guard Howard Loughridge, who entered the game among the conference leaders in scoring and rebounding, attempted only four shots and scored six points in 40 minutes.

CSUN 63, CSLA 48--Kathleen Dixon scored 18 points and Bridgette Ealy grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Lady Matadors in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. opener for both teams at Northridge.

Northridge (7-8, 1-0 in CCAA play) trailed at the half, 27-23, and had one more turnovers (18) than it did field-goal attempts.

The Matadors rallied to take the lead with 10:52 to play when Dixon rebounded a miss for a basket that gave CSUN a 40-39 lead.