Lackadaisical CSUN Manages to Dispose of Cal State L.A., 72-70
Looking for a quiet place to study Tuesday night? The Cal State Northridge gym was the place to be.
Sure, there was a basketball game going on, but that wasn’t going to bother any of the 217 in attendance.
Why, it was so quiet inside that Darren Matsubara, Northridge’s point guard, claimed he heard echoes when he called out a play.
“I didn’t even have to yell,” Matsubara said. “I’d just say, ‘One’ and everyone in the gym could hear me.”
Another person who could be heard loud and clear all night was Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy, who was none-too-pleased with his team despite its 70-62 victory over Cal State Los Angeles.
“Going hard is a habit and we didn’t display that at all tonight,” Cassidy said. “We got a 12-point lead and we figured it was over. We relaxed, and I’m not pleased with that at all.”
Fortunately for the Matadors, their opponent wasn’t exactly bursting with energy, either.
If, as Cassidy said, going hard is a habit, coasting was the trend in this game--even for those not directly involved.
“I can’t understand what happened,” CSUN forward Alan Fraser said. “It was like everybody was in second gear and couldn’t get out of it. The band . . . . I think they were playing at half-speed, too. It was ridiculous.”
Cal State L.A.’s record should have been the most obvious excuse after the game. The Golden Eagles came in 3-17.
Still, those on the CSUN side denied taking their opponent lightly.
“I was worried about this one,” Matsubara said. “The one thing I didn’t want to happen was a team that wasn’t going to the playoffs to hurt us in the standings. I didn’t want to look back and say, ‘that loss to Cal State L.A. is the reason we’re not going.’ ”
And with the current state of the standings in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., every game takes on that much more importance.
Northridge (13-8) is 4-4 in CCAA games, leaving it in a four-way tie for third place with Chapman, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal State Bakersfield. The Matadors play back-to-back games at home Thursday against Bakersfield and Saturday against San Luis Obispo.
Cal State L.A. came in having won its first conference game in 23 tries last Saturday against Cal Poly Pomona.
That win, plus earlier strong performances against the CCAA’s top teams, UC Riverside and Cal State Dominguez Hills, had Matador players and coaches concerned.
But the concern never manifested itself on the court.
“I just kept throwing people in and out to see if anyone wanted to play hard--and smart,” Cassidy said.
Said Matsubara: “We had no emotion at all. I kept saying to the guys in the huddle, ‘We keep playing around like this and they’re going to sting us.’ ”
It almost happened.
Northridge coasted along with a double-digit lead for much of the second half before Cal State L.A. clawed back into contention.
The Matadors led, 61-53, with five minutes left, but the Golden Eagles outscored CSUN, 9-3, during the next two minutes to trim the margin to 64-62.
Northridge was clinging to a three-point advantage with 17 seconds left when a foul--and a few choice words from Coach Henry Dyer--took the Eagles out of contention.
Jemarl Baker of CSUN was fouled by Omar Bray with 17 seconds left, prompting Dyer to take out his frustration on the officials who hit the CSLA coach with a pair of double technicals and kicked him out of the gym.
Baker made all four free throws to stretch CSUN’s lead to 69-62.
Cal State L.A. closed the gap behind the play of forward Rhodney Moore, who scored a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Matsubara and Fraser led Northridge with 14 points each. Derrick Gathers added 11 and Baker 10.
Todd Bowser missed his third game because of a sore hip that seems to be getting worse. He will be examed by a doctor again today.
