Keefe Dominates as Stanford Crushes CSUN, 80-59

Cal State Northridge had no defense for Stanford All-American candidate Adam Keefe on Saturday night at Maples Pavilion. Keefe scored 26 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out six assists as the Cardinal handed Northridge an 80-59 defeat before 3,419.

Northridge (1-12) suffered its 16th consecutive loss on the road, two shy of the school record of 18 set from Dec. 2, 1961, to Dec. 14, 1962.

“If you look at the stat sheet it is Keefe, Keefe, Keefe,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said. “When things get a little tough they give the ball to him or he goes and gets it himself with a rebound. He’s just a great, great player.”

Keefe, a 6-foot-9 senior forward, did most of his damage inside.

“You try to stop him, but he’s such a big guy,” Northridge forward Keith Gibbs said. “He’s real strong. I don’t know if he gets a lot of credit for that.”

Matador centers Percy Fisher and Brian Kilian drew help from Gibbs and Shelton Boykin, but Keefe either beat the double team or found the open man.

“He’s definitely a pro player,” Fisher said. “I hope he has a great career. He deserves it because he works hard.”

Brent Williams also hurt the Matadors with 15 points on seven-of-12 shooting from the perimeter.

“(Northridge) was outmanned and they knew it,” Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery said. “But you don’t measure size of heart by how big they are. They came in and were competitive.”

Poor shot selection limited the Matadors to 35.8% shooting compared to the 53.7% posted by Stanford (8-1).

“I was somewhat disappointed in our offensive execution, in terms of patience,” Cassidy said. “We didn’t swing the ball and we didn’t screen well enough.”

Northridge trailed, 38-27, at halftime and could not draw closer than 11 points in the second half.

With six minutes left in the first half the Matadors were still in contention. Andre Chevalier’s three-point basket cut the deficit to two points, but the Cardinal responded with an 11-2 run to lead, 34-23.

Keefe led the charge with two assists and four points. Meanwhile, Northridge turned the ball over twice and missed twice on shots inside.

“(Northridge) reminds me of people I play with in summer leagues,” Keefe said. “Obviously they can shoot. Maybe they are a step below athletically.”

The Matadors shot just 32% in the first half one night after shooting 73% in the first half against St. Mary’s in a two-point loss.

Gibbs, who shot a personal-best 69% against the Gaels, missed nine of 15 shots against Stanford and turned over the ball four times in front of a large contingent of family and friends from his home in nearby San Jose.

“In the first half I struggled,” Gibbs said of his five first-half misses. “I was a little over-excited with so many friends and family here.”

Boykin also had accuracy problems, misfiring on seven of nine shots.

Chevalier did not start for the first time all season because he was late for the bus.

“By being late I feel I let the team down,” Chevalier said. “I have to double check the time next time and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Chevalier played only 20 minutes and scored just seven points, ending a streak of two consecutive games in double figures. “Andre usually plays more, but I felt that James (Morris) was having a pretty good night,” Cassidy said.

Morris scored nine points on 50% shooting in 20 minutes.

Kenny Hicks, formerly of Notre Dame High, played 12 minutes for Stanford and made two assists.

David Harbour, a Stanford freshman from Camarillo High, scored seven points in five minutes at the end of the game.