Chevalier Ignites CSUN, 83-73

It looked like another game was about to unravel for Cal State Northridge on Friday night. Freshman point guard Andre Chevalier was tripped and stripped of the ball and San Diego scored on the break at the other end to take its biggest lead of the game.

But Chevalier went coast-to-coast on the next CSUN possession, igniting a second-half run that gave the Matadors their second victory this season, an 83-73 win over the Toreros.

Northridge (2-6) is undefeated at Matador Gymnasium. San Diego, of the West Coast Conference, lost its third in a row to fall to 5-3.

“As you know, I get knocked down all the time so I don’t know if that gave me incentive as much as the turnover,” Chevalier said.

“Whenever I make a turnover I try to get the ball back and make up for my mistake instead of putting my head down like I used to do. I used to get mad instead of keeping on playing. That’s one thing coach (Pete Cassidy) taught me.”

After his driving layup, Chevalier twice attacked the same place on the court, taking Kyle Kerlegan’s man with him each time before wheeling to feed Kerlegan, who sank consecutive three-point shots. From there, CSUN outscored San Diego, 21-6, to take a 15-point lead.

“It is all due to Andre’s quickness,” said Kerlegan, who finished with a team-high 18 points--14 in the second half--on 50% shooting. “My man had to leave me. All I had to do was hit an open shot. The first three I hit I was really, really open. That gave me my confidence back because I didn’t shoot well in the first half.”

San Diego gave the Matadors a scare when it cut the lead to five on Michael Brown’s three-point basket with 3 minutes 45 seconds left, but on the ensuing possession, CSUN ended a three-minute scoring drought with a basket by Todd Bowser after a no-look pass from Keith Gibbs.

Then Chevalier came up with a steal on the Toreros’ ensuing possession to stem San Diego’s momentum. Gibbs was fouled and hit one of the shots, and the Toreros missed on their next four possessions, including a jump hook shot by 6-9 center Dondi Bell that was blocked from the side by CSUN’s David Swanson, a 7-foot high jumper.

With 1:33 left, Chevalier escaped the San Diego press and lofted a lob to Gibbs, who put it down for a 77-67 advantage. In the final 1:16, CSUN hit all four of its foul shots.

The Matadors shot a season-high 50% from the field, including seven of 14 from three-point range.

Chevalier scored a season-high 16 points and had five assists. Gibbs scored 12 and Kirk Scott scored a season-high 11.

Todd Bowser grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds and Shelton Boykin had nine.

“That’s the best effort we’ve had all year,” Cassidy said. “It is an excellent Christmas present for the Northridge players. We’ve been humiliated on the road. . . . I’ve lost 10 pounds and I can’t sleep at night.”

Toreros Coach Hank Egan probably won’t catch any Zs either after watching his team shoot a season-low 39%, including a two-of-23 effort from three-point range.

Egan criticized the San Diego media for putting undue pressure on his players by saying that they would win easily.

“I’ve had a hole in my gut all week,” Egan said, “and that’s as disappointed as I’ve ever been.”

Northridge played horrendously at the outset, but for once it didn’t matter--San Diego was just as awful. The Matadors missed 11 of their first 15 shots while the Toreros missed on 10 of their first 15 attempts.

Both teams finally found the mark with 11 minutes left in the first half. Scott sank three consecutive shots for CSUN, including one for three points, only his third on 12 attempts this season, and the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Bell started to heat up.

MATADOR NOTES: Cassidy and his players paid homage to the home-court advantage: “Our guys are so excited not to sleep in a Holiday Inn tonight,” Cassidy said, “Nothing against Holiday Inn.”. . . David Keeter, who is averaging 10 points a game, missed his second consecutive game because of a sprained ankle. . . . CSUN center Percy Fisher, who is academically ineligible this semester, calmed the Matamaniacs (a group of football and basketball players who paint their faces and chests) after a referee gave one of them a warning. . . .