Northridge Holds Off Surprising Hayward, 89-79

They were 1-6. Three times they had been defeated by more than 20 points in a game.

They were Cal State Hayward. And they appeared to be yet another semi-comatose basketball team gracing the Cal State Northridge schedule.

They were imposters.

The Hayward team that played host to Northridge Friday night resembled one that has qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs 4 years in a row, which, by the way, it has.

Still, it wasn’t good enough.

Northridge ran its record to 6-1 with a 89-79 victory over the Pioneers in a nonconference game.

In winning their fourth in a row, the Matadors shot 55%, overcame a 25-point performance from Hayward guard Ryant Diew, dove for and seemingly came up with every loose ball and forced 22 turnovers.

More important, with CSUN clinging to a 2-point lead with 6:50 remaining, the Matadors made 8 consecutive shots to go up by a comfortable 16 with 2 minutes left.

Reserve forward Leroy McCullough scored all 8 of his points during that span, in which everything went right for Northridge.

The last points of the scoring run came on a two-handed McCullough dunk off a pass from point-guard Darren Matsubara that took place with Coach Pete Cassidy screaming red-faced for a timeout.

“Leroy would have been real upset if I wouldn’t have done that,” Matsubara said. Cassidy, on the other hand, wasn’t too disappointed that he had either gone unheard or ignored.

We’re you’re hot, you’re hot.

And Matsubara was certainly that. He led Northridge with 22 points on 7 of 9 shooting--4 of 4 from 3-point range--and added 6 assists.

The only thing Matsubara didn’t do (perhaps because he never got a chance) was shut down Diew, who scored 20 points in the first half.

CSUN’s Derrick Gathers, guarded Diew periodically, found the 6-3 senior dangerous when armed.

“A guy like him, you don’t play him to take a jumper or to drive,” said Gathers, who scored 21 himself. “The best way to play him is to deny him the ball because if he gets it, he’ll hurt you.”

Part of the reason Hayward is off to its worst start in 5 years was Diew’s ineligibility at the start of the season. Diew and teammates Eric Ingram and Lorenzo Hall, all starters off last season’s 18-12 team, missed the Pioneers’ first 4 games.

Informed after the game that Hayward had fallen to 1-7, Gathers was incredulous--until he found out which 3 players had been missing.

“They’re definitely the best team we’ve played,” Gathers said.

The lead changed hands 14 times in the first half as Hayward shot 60.8% and Northridge 56.2%. The Matadors led at intermission, 47-45, after letting their first chance at some breathing room slip away.

Northridge had outscored Hayward, 8-2, to take a 6-point advantage with a minute remaining in the half when referee Charlie Range hit the Matador bench with a pair of technical fouls.

“I didn’t think I said anything terribly sinful,” Cassidy said.

Diew made all 4 of the free throws, but the setback was only temporary for CSUN.

“I think we overcame a little adversity tonight,” Cassidy said. “It was nice to see the players respond in a positive way when the game got tough.”