Cal and Reality Slap Northridge in Season Finale

A season that began with 10 new players eager to take on the challenges of NCAA Division I basketball ended for Cal State Northridge on Tuesday night with the reality of another road loss, 99-78, to California at Harmon Gym.

It was the Matadors’ ninth loss in their past 10 games and their seventh in eight games without Coach Pete Cassidy, who is recovering from intestinal surgery.

Northridge thus ended its first season as a Division I independent with an 8-20 record, including a 2-15 mark on the road where the average margin of defeat was 20.9 points.

“It has been a long season,” said interim coach Tom McCollum. “I have mixed emotions to have the season over with. We got better every time out although the bottom line, the score, didn’t show it.”

The Bears (12-15) ended a four-game losing streak with a new lineup. They led by as many as 34 points before Coach Lou Campanelli emptied the bench.

Three-point specialist Billy Dreher came off the bench to lead Cal with 20 points. Teammate Brian Hendrick, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Diamond Bar, did most of his damage in the first half, scoring 15 of his 19 points and grabbing 11 of his 12 rebounds before intermission.

Despite Hendrick’s success, Northridge stayed within striking distance early in the game.

With 8 minutes 18 seconds left in the half, CSUN tied the score, 23-23, but the Matadors were unable to take the lead. On their next five possessions, they turned the ball over on a couple of traveling violations, a poor pass, a dropped pass and a steal off the dribble.

“It is that same youthful exuberance,” McCollum said. “We have a period of success but we haven’t learned to contain that excitement; we want more.”

Once the Matadors finally got a handle on the ball, they couldn’t shoot it. Freshman Martin Smith finally ended a series of four consecutive misses with a pair of 12-foot jump shots, ending the four-minute scoring drought.

But Cal answered with a 7-0 run to push the lead to 41-27, the largest of the half. Another jump shot by Smith and two three-point baskets by Kyle Kerlegan, including one at the buzzer after a behind-the-head pass from Andre Chevalier, pulled Northridge within 10 at halftime, 45-35.

Although Smith scored on all three of his shots to keep CSUN within contention at intermission, he did not return to the lineup until 11:50 remained. By that time, Northridge trailed by 23 points, 67-44.

Cal opened the second half with seven consecutive points and a 12-2 run from which the Matadors never recovered.

McCollum said he considered starting Smith but opted for a bigger lineup for defensive purposes.

“We might have been flat,” said Kerlegan who scored a game-high 22 points in his career finale, “but they started out strong. They might have had a tongue-lashing at halftime.”

Notes

Kyle Kerlegan, Kirk Scott, Keith Gibbs, Percy Fisher and Brian Kilian had several friends and relatives in attendance. The four players are all from the Bay Area. Scott scored 14 points, tying his career-high in the final game of his career.