CSUN Sharp in Basketball Exhibition

As far as exhibitions go, the Cal State Northridge basketball team might want to put this kind of show on display more often.

Northridge unofficially opened its second season of NCAA Division I competition Friday night with a convincing 95-66 win over the University of Victoria (Canada) in an exhibition contest before 413 at Matador Gym.

“I’m pleased,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said after his team had shot 51% from the field and had hit 10 of 16 three-point attempts using a selective motion-offense attack. “I think we showed a lot of things in terms of understanding some of the basketball concepts we’re trying to bring across.”

Freshman guard Ryan Martin, who might be one of CSUN’s biggest recruiting steals in recent years, made five of six three-point attempts en route to a 17-point effort.

“It’s always good in your first college game to get right into the swing of things,” said Martin, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound product from Ocean View High.

But the biggest surprise to Matador fans on this night was the play of sophomore guard Brooklyn McLinn, who returned to the Matadors after a one-year layoff and scored a team-high 19 points, including five three-point baskets in seven tries.

“I know it was just a test,” said McLinn, who sat out last season to work on his overall game. “I think I passed, with an A.”

Using an active half-court game on offense that was a far cry from last year’s run-and-gun approach, Northridge opened a 49-41 lead at halftime behind the crowd-pleasing, three-point shooting of Martin and McLinn and the steady play of forward Keith Gibbs (14 points).

Victoria, a semifinalist in last year’s Canadian national tournament, went on a 14-7 run to start the second half and closed to within 56-55 behind the scoring of guard Tom Johnson (game-high 21 points). But the Vikes went scoreless for the next five minutes and CSUN kicked into gear and broke the game open.

Northridge took advantage of five consecutive Victoria turnovers to push the lead to 68-55 and the Matadors increased their lead to the 20-point range in the closing minutes behind the solid inside play of center Percy Fisher.

Fisher, a physical 6-7, 216-pound junior, played just 15 minutes because of early foul trouble but finished with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Northridge outrebounded Victoria, 48-27.