CSUN, Bakersfield Put Streaks to Test

A pair of three-game winning streaks will be on the line at 8:30 tonight when Cal State Northridge plays Cal State Bakersfield at the Bakersfield Auditorium in the opening round of the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. basketball tournament.

Bakersfield (18-9, 10-4 in the CCAA) was the conference’s regular-season champion. But the Roadrunners have lost their past three games against Northridge at the Civic.

The Roadrunners had won 10 home games in a row before Northridge (15-11, 7-7) defeated them, 67-61, at the Civic two weeks ago.

The last time Bakersfield defeated the Matadors in a home game was during the 1984-85 season, when the Roadrunners won, 53-51, at Bakersfield College.

Coach Pat Douglass of Bakersfield also has an unenviable losing streak against Coach Pete Cassidy of Northridge.

The Matadors have defeated Douglass and Bakersfield twice this season and Northridge defeated an Eastern Montana team coached by Douglass in the first round of the NCAA Division II West regional in 1985.

Northridge is led by senior forward Pat Bolden, who is averaging 16.3 points and 6 rebounds a game. Bakersfield is led by forward Troy Price (15.7 points and 5.4 rebounds).

In the other semifinal, UC Riverside (21-6, 10-4), the conference runner-up, will play Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (16-9, 9-5).

Riverside is led by guard Maurice Pullum, who is averaging 14.9 points a game.