Northridge Rises From the Ashes of an 0-10 Start : College basketball: Team has won nine of its past 12, and Cassidy, players cite tenacity as a major factor in the turnaround.

The battle for the loose basketball was furious and as the ball squirted toward the Wisconsin Milwaukee bench, players from each team gave chase.

Tellingly, Cal State Northridge players James Morris and Keith Gibbs dived headlong onto the hardwood floor.

Morris beat Gibbs to the ball and from a prone position passed to teammate Brooklyn McLinn, who found Gibbs open on the left wing. Gibbs swished an 18-foot jump shot, helping Northridge to overcome a 14-point second-half deficit last Saturday and win going away in overtime, 80-69.

The play demonstrated a key aspect of this season’s Northridge team: Even when the Matadors were 0-10 and 1-12, they never lacked hustle and tenacity. Without hesitation, they threw their bodies to the floor.

“When it comes to things like that, that’s pride,” Morris said.

Finally, the effort is paying off in the win column: The Matadors have won nine of their past 12 games. Northridge, which will play Northeastern Illinois tonight at 7 in its home finale, has improved to 10-15 and is riding a wave of euphoria after a 102-95 upset of Loyola Marymount on Tuesday before a vocal home crowd of 2,276.

Less than two months ago, the Matadors were mired in a 13-game losing streak dating to last season. Any chance of gaining a berth in the National Invitation Tournament had been hopelessly lost and, competing as an independent, Northridge did not even have a conference race to look forward to. Tempers wore thin.

“We started griping at each other a little bit,” senior forward Brian Kilian said. “But we didn’t get real bad. We hung in there and kept playing hard. Coach (Pete Cassidy) said we’d get our wins, and they came.”

Cassidy cannot pinpoint a reason for the turnaround. Clearly, the schedule has helped. Of its first 13 games, Northridge played 10 on the road. Among the teams that beat the Matadors during that span were Stanford, Evansville, Butler, Utah and Montana, all ranked in the top 80 by USA Today. None of the teams Northridge has defeated are ranked in the top 80.

The Matadors also have improved their shooting, but when pressed for an explanation, Cassidy suggests that the answer lies within each player.

“They refused to accept failure,” he said. “The tenacity they showed to overcome an 0-10 start blows me away. I’m so proud of them. They had so much adversity and they just kept battling back.”

Gibbs, who is expected to miss Northridge’s final three games because of the death of his stepfather, attributes the team’s turnaround to three conversations.

In the first, a players-only meeting after the eighth loss of the season at Utah, the team vowed to play with more intensity. The second took place on a flight from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, Gibbs and sophomore guard Andre Chevalier resolving to shoulder more of the scoring load.

Little changed immediately after those meetings. In fact, Gibbs calls the subsequent losses at Cal State Fullerton and the University of San Diego the lowest point of the season.

After a three-day winter holiday break, the players met with Cassidy, minus assistants Tom McCollum and Jerry Carrillo.

“The frustration added up,” Gibbs said. “We had to get it out of us. Coach was real open-minded. He listened to all of us.”

Cassidy listened to some tough talk, according to senior forward Shelton Boykin.

“It was a meeting that criticized everybody, including the coaches. We really hit Coach (Cassidy) hard,” he said.

The message Boykin and his teammates delivered was for Cassidy to “have more faith in the shooters, don’t be so quick to take them out.”

“He’s not going to let nobody miss 15 times and stay in, but he’s better about it now and the shooters are more relaxed,” Boykin said.

Said Cassidy: “I probably changed in my demeanor, but if someone is having an off-night, I’m still going to make a change.

“If they felt that airing their feelings helped, then great. But I have not stopped harping on the same things. They know what sets the Irishman off.”

The change can be seen on the statistics sheet. Northridge, which averaged 58.7 points a game in the first 10 games, is averaging 70.4 for the season. And the Matadors’ field-goal shooting has improved from 38% to 44.6%.

The most significant improvement was made by Gibbs, who has boosted his field-goal accuracy from 41% to 48% and his scoring average from nine points to 15.2. Consequently, Gibbs has been doubled-teamed on drives to the basket, opening scoring opportunities for the ever-improving front court of Kilian, Boykin and Percy Fisher.

“A lot of it is just persistence on the guys’ part,” Carrillo said. “When we were 0-10 and 1-12, it was odd to me the way the guys still stayed after practice to work on their games. I couldn’t put the basketballs away.”

McCollum characterizes the turnaround as more of a progression.

“We saw good things happening, but we were just shooting 36-37%,” he said. “It was a case of guys developing (shooting skills) and Jerry Carrillo had a lot to say about that. He spent the extra time with them.”

Chevalier also has increased his scoring, from 6.8 through the first 10 games to 9.9. McLinn, now part of a defensive brigade that includes Gibbs, Chevalier and Morris, has emerged as a three-point threat.

David Keeter and Ryan Martin have scoring punch off the bench. Backup forward John Moses contributes with rebounds and defense.

The players have thrived in what Chevalier calls a family atmosphere.

“Everybody loves each other and respects each other,” he said.

Especially lately. The only downside is the timing. After tonight, Northridge will play only two more games.

“We wish this was the beginning of the season,” Chevalier said.