Northridge Joins Chase Too Late

Selland Arena rocks to the motion of the Red Wave when the Fresno State basketball team is on a roll.

And full of delight it was in the first half Tuesday night when the host Bulldogs ran away from Cal State Northridge.

And a silent abyss it became as the game wore on and the visiting Matadors came storming back.

But Northridge’s rally came a little too late. Fresno, led by its much-maligned front line, held on to defeat the Matadors, 77-67, before 8,718 in the season opener for both teams.

“I think the worst thing in college basketball is halftime,” Fresno Coach Gary Colson quipped. “It screws up the whole game.”

Certainly, it helped turn the tide for Northridge, which played the first half in a fog, falling behind by 19 after eight minutes. The Matadors scrambled within five points with under a minute remaining but could get no closer.

Pete Cassidy, Northridge’s coach, attributed the Matadors’ early showing to a lack of major-college experience. “For some of these guys it was their first game in Division I. They were blind in a sense.”

Which explains why Northridge shot 40.7% and was outrebounded, 26-8, in the first 20 minutes.

Colson was so confident that he used 13 players in the first half.

Northridge outhustled and outplayed the Bulldogs in the second half, much to the dismay of the red-clad partisans who spent a good deal of time grumbling.

Colson wasn’t happy, either. “It was a learning experience for us,” he said. “At least I hoped we learned from it. If we didn’t, it’s going to be a long winter.”

Northridge’s rally was spurred by center Peter Micelli, a sophomore who redshirted last season after playing sparingly as a freshman. Micelli scored 14 points in the second half. He finished with 18 to share high-point honors with Fresno’s Seth Marshall.

“I can’t even tell you about the first half,” Micelli said, “because my head just wasn’t there.”

It showed in Northridge’s rebounding totals. In the first half, the Matadors had one offensive rebound, that grabbed by James Morris, a 5-8 guard, on a long bounce after Ryan Martin missed a three-point attempt.

Fresno shot 51.4% in the first half, making 18 of 35 field goals. Northridge shot 37.5% while attempting 11 fewer shots.

In the second half, however, Northridge held a 20-12 edge on the boards.

Down, 49-26, at the half, the Matadors gradually chipped away, causing the Bulldogs some anxious moments in the final minute.

Northridge trimmed Fresno’s lead inside double digits when Micelli made two free throws with 3 minutes 6 seconds left to make the score 65-56. The Bulldogs’ advantage shrunk as low as five, 69-64, when Brooklyn McLinn made a three-point shot with 35 seconds remaining.

In the final 31 seconds, Fresno made six consecutive free throws as the Matadors were forced to foul.

McLinn and Andre Chevalier each had 13 points for Northridge and forward Chris Yard grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds despite only four points.

Travis Stel, Fresno’s center, backed Marshall with 13 points. Guards DeAndre Austin and Davon Satterwhite chipped in 12 and 10, respectively.

Northridge did most of its scoring in the first half during a four-minute stretch.

A top-of-the-key jump shot by Brooklyn McLinn started a spree in which Northridge scored six of seven times down the floor.

Anthony Moten, who spent much of preseason practice resting a fractured left hand, gave the Matador offense a lift with a hot shooting hand. Moten, a 6-5 swingman who played only 10 minutes as a walk-on last season, scored on a layup and made two three-point shots as Northridge outscored Fresno, 15-8, to pull within 32-20 with 7:39 left in the half.