Turnovers Haunt Northridge in 95-73 Loss

The momentum gained from Monday’s record-setting victory didn’t carry over from the home court to the road for Cal State Northridge here Thursday night. The Matadors made too many turnovers, a season-high 29, to sustain an offense in their 95-73 loss to Eastern Washington.

In falling to 7-12 and passing up the opportunity to win three games in a row, Northridge bore little resemblance to the team that scored a school-record 123 points against U.S. International three nights earlier.

“It is amazing we weren’t down 50 when we turned the ball over like that,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said of the 17 first-half turnovers.

The poor passing and ball-handling negated Northridge’s 67.7% first-half shooting effort--well above its 42% season average--because the Matadors were limited to 15 field-goal attempts.

Eastern Washington (7-11) made 12 less turnovers and outrebounded Northridge, 41-33, to end a six-game losing streak.

Cassidy went with the new starting lineup that he had used in the last two wins with David Keeter and Sean Davis starting ahead of Kyle Kerlegan and Keith Gibbs.

Keeter committed a game-high eight turnovers but led Northridge in rebounding with six. He was one of three Matadors in double figures with 13 points.

Kerlegan, who hit eight of 14 shots from three-point range against USIU, missed six of seven from long range and was held to three points. Gibbs, who also broke out of a shooting slump the last two games, missed all six of his shots.

Northridge point guard Andre Chevalier was shaky in the first five minutes of the game. His five turnovers in that span limited the Matadors to five shots, three of which they missed.

Said Cassidy: “I think it is just youth. At times, he forces the play, and that is the result. At times it works, like against Loyola. (Chevalier scored 20 points and made eight assists in that game.) And at times it doesn’t.

“We try to be patient with him.”

Said Chevalier: “I don’t know what happened. I was frustrated with myself and at the same time I tried to settle myself down.

“When I get frustrated when we miss shots, I do try to take it into my own hands.”

In the latter part of the first half, Chevalier’s problems infected the rest of the team. On five of six possessions in the last five minutes, Northridge turned over the ball.

Meanwhile, the Eagles outscored the Matadors, 14-3, to lead, 45-29, at halftime.

A 7-0 run pulled Northridge within 14 points with 12 minutes 41 seconds to play, but Miquel Johnson answered with a three-point basket, igniting a 10-0 tear that buried the Matadors.

“We still had a shot at it but you have to come back two points at a time and make it tougher on them,” Cassidy said.

Starters Shelton Boykin and Todd Bowser were limited to 13 and 11 minutes, respectively. Bowser scored only two points after averaging 14.5 in the past four games.

Percy Fisher led Northridge with a career-high 21 points and freshman Peter Micelli also took up some of Bowser’s playing time as Cassidy played him and freshman Martin Smith liberally in light of the lopsided score.