Northridge Upsets Loyola to Give Cassidy His 300th Win

There was no shortage of incentive for Cal State Northridge on Tuesday night.

The Matadors wanted to give Coach Pete Cassidy his 300th win, they wanted leading scorer Keith Gibbs to end his career on a winning note and they wanted to establish themselves in the community with a victory over a Division I Southland team.

With a 102-95 triumph over Loyola Marymount before a Matador Gymnasium crowd of 2,276, the largest in 14 years, Northridge accomplished all of its goals.

“I loved it, I loved every minute of it,” guard James Morris said. “This game had special incentive for coach and for Keith. We had to win it. It meant so much.”

For Cassidy, who is 300-260 in his 21st season at Northridge, “a win over Loyola feels better than a 300th win. All 300 wins means is you’ve been around a long time.”

It was an emotional game for Gibbs because he learned of his stepfather’s death Tuesday morning. Last month, Gibbs’ maternal grandfather died.

“It looks like my last game of the year since I’m going home tonight to be with my family,” said Gibbs, a senior from San Jose.

Northridge (10-15), which has three games remaining, won for the ninth time in its last 12 games.

“I knew they’d be tough,” said Loyola Coach Jay Hillock, whose team dropped to 13-11. “They are really on a roll. They wanted this game probably more than we did. They played excited and upbeat.”

Northridge trailed by as many as seven points, 33-26, with 10 minutes 30 seconds left in the first half. A 15-6 run by the Matadors gave them a 56-54 halftime lead.

Northridge was able to catch the Lions after learning to break Loyola’s press. The gambling, full-court press left Northridge with a two-on-one advantage. With Gibbs attacking the lone defender with driving layups or with feeds to Brian Kilian and Percy Fisher, Northridge reeled off 19 points in the last six minutes of the half.

“Give their guards credit for handling the pressure and give Gibbs credit for finishing,” Hillock said. “He was a great player in the open court. He was exciting.”

Northridge shot 61.5% in the half compared to Loyola’s 50%, but the Matadors led by only two because the Lions outrebounded Northridge, 26-18.

In the second half, the Matadors won the battle on the boards, 27-16, and took command with a 9-3 run early in the half for a 70-62 lead.

Although the Lions tied it, 80-80, with 6:27 left, Northridge responded with a 10-0 run to regain control.

Morris and Andre Chevalier each hit two free throws, Shelton Boykin scored off a pass from Morris and Gibbs scored twice, the latter a one-handed dunk off a feed from Chevalier that made the crowd roar. “We haven’t had a crowd like that since I’ve been here,” Chevalier said. “We usually have fans cheer but not how other colleges cheer.”

Northridge’s point total was its season high and the first time the Matadors had reached 100 points. Gibbs led Northridge with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Terrell Lowery, who scored 41 points in his last outing, led the Lions with 23 points.