CSUN Plays Well, but Not Well Enough

Derrick Gathers hates to lose, but it was difficult for the Cal State Northridge senior to find fault with his or his teammates’ performance in an 81-70 loss to Cal State Fullerton in a nonconference basketball game before 2,616 at Titan Gym on Saturday night.

Northridge (3-5), a National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division II team, was on the ropes several times against the undefeated Division I Titans but never folded.

Northridge twice trailed by 14 points, but came back each time.

After Fullerton’s Cedric Ceballos converted a three-point play, Northridge trailed, 68-54, with 7 minutes, 38 seconds remaining.

But the Matadors countered with a 6-0 run on Sandy Brown’s running baseline jump shot, a layup by Bill Mazurie and a Jemarl Baker jump shot to pull within eight with six minutes left.

“We played hard,” Gathers said, “We never gave up, but we just got a couple of bad bounces at the end and couldn’t pull it out.”

Trailing, 76-66, with 1:23 to play, Northridge was forced to foul the Titans (5-0). The strategy appeared to work as Fullerton made only three of six free throws down the stretch. The trouble was that the Titans rebounded all three misses.

Mark Hill, Fullerton’s three-point marksman, scored a game-high 29 points and All-Big West Conference forward Ceballos had 22 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Gathers scored a team-high 22 for Northridge, and Baker and Eugene Humphrey each had 16.

“They are by far the most talented team we’ve played,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said. “I’m very proud of the way our guys played. They didn’t back down. They were very tenacious. They focused nicely tonight.”

Although Northridge was at a severe height disadvantage, the Matadors outrebounded the Titans, 34-32, in the game--19-9 in the first half.

Northridge trailed, 41-37, at halftime after outscoring Fullerton, 15-5, in the final five minutes of the first half.

Baker started the run by hitting one of two free throws and ended it with a three-point basket.

In between, the Matadors got a three-point basket from Gathers, two medium-range jump shots from Humphrey, a pair of free throws from Kendell McDaniels and a layup off a rebound by Gathers.

After leading, 15-14, with 11:22 left in the half, Northridge watched Hill lead a 14-5 Titan run that gave Fullerton a 28-20 advantage with eight minutes remaining.

Hill, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound senior guard, scored 11 of Fullerton’s 14 points during the surge on four-of-four shooting--including three three-point baskets.

Hill had 20 points at halftime on seven-of-eight shooting, including five of five from three-point range.

Ceballos, who entered the game averaging 27.5 points, had eight points.

Gathers scored 13 points and Baker and McDaniels (six rebounds) each had eight in the first half for the Matadors.