Wisconsin Milwaukee Snaps CSUN Streak

Pete Cassidy has said it before: It’s not height that’s going to beat his Cal State Northridge basketball team. It’s speed, quickness and outside shooting.

Sunday afternoon, the Matador coach proved prophetic as his team was soundly defeated, 78-65, by the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee at the Mecca Arena. The loss ended CSUN’s five-game winning streak.

Northridge center Peter Micelli led all scorers with 18 points, equaling his career high. He also had a game- and career-high 13 rebounds. But Andre Chevalier, who finished with 11 points, was the only other player to score more than 10 points for Northridge (7-8).

Five players scored more than 10 points for Milwaukee (15-1), including point guard Marc Mitchell who had 17 points and 11 assists.

“They are such a quick team and Marc Mitchell is such a great point guard,” Cassidy said. “They’re extremely athletic and I told our players before the game that I thought they were the best team that we played. And we played UCLA.”

But Cassidy still found fault with his team’s effort in CSUN’s most one-sided loss of the season.

“You have to stay focused and concentrate the entire 40 minutes.” he said. “If you let down, you’re going to get hurt. We had a lot of letdowns.”

The Panthers wreaked havoc upon CSUN from the outside, connecting on five of 12 three-point shots during the first half to open a 42-33 lead. A rebound basket by Micelli opening the second half got the Matadors within seven points, but they were unable to pull any closer.

“From looking at their stats, they shoot a lot of (three-pointers) like we do,” said Chevalier, who finished with only two assists before fouling out, leaving him 11 shy of the school record. “They were hitting their shots, so we had to come out. And then they went to the inside strong.”

The Panthers pounded the ball down low in the second half, scoring most of their points on fast-break layups and free throws.

CSUN almost lost more than a game when James Morris landed on his head going after an offensive rebound midway through the second half. Morris lay motionless for several minutes before he was assisted off the floor. He reportedly sustained a bump on the back of his head and is probable for CSUN’s game Tuesday at Boise State.

Morris finished with nine points in 13 minutes.