Northridge Ends Skid at Five, 80-73

On a night when he became Cal State Northridge’s all-time assists leader, guard Andre Chevalier learned a valuable lesson. Always keep moving, even after the game.

After scoring a game-high 20 points to lead Northridge to an 80-73 victory over Cal State Sacramento, Chevalier made the mistake of pausing to sign an autograph for a youngster in attendance on youth basketball night.

Within seconds, he was surrounded by a mob of little fans.

It was the only time he was trapped all night.

Chevalier shredded a tight Sacramento defense by making six of seven shots, including four of four from three-point range, and also picked up five assists.

He has 320 assists in nearly three seasons as the Matadors’ point guard, five more than Troy Dueker, who played for Northridge from 1984-88.

Northridge (8-12) snapped a five-game losing streak and improved its record to 5-1 at home before 856. Sacramento lost its eighth consecutive game, despite outshooting an opponent (41.8% to 40.7%) for only the second time this season.

The Hornets are 0-14 on the road, 1-20 overall.

Northridge led by nine at the half and stretched its advantage to 17, 52-35, by scoring 10 consecutive points shortly after intermission. Chevalier, who had only five points at halftime, did most of the damage, sinking three three-point shots in the first five minutes.

Sacramento responded to Chevalier’s perimeter shooting by tightening its man-to-man defense. Northridge responded by spreading its offense and sending guards Chevalier and James Morris on whirling-dervish drives to the basket.

“When they get so close, they give you no choice but to penetrate with the ball,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said.

Morris often was fouled, and he made the most of his free-throw opportunities, making 10 of 12 on his way to 18 points. Northridge, which came in shooting only 62.7% from the free-throw line, made 28 of 37 attempts.

Northridge has been working hard to improve its free-throw shooting, Morris said, adding that Sacramento obviously believed that fouling was good strategy.

Charlo Davis, who led Sacramento with 18 points, kept reminding Morris that he was expected to miss.

“The whole time I went to the free-throw line I kept hearing him make little comments,” Morris said. “It made me laugh. One time I laughed too much and I missed.”

Don Newman, Sacramento’s coach, said he considered Northridge’s free-throw accuracy against the Hornets “par for the course.”

“We had some guys targeted who we thought we could foul, but they did what they had to do,” Newman added.

Northridge held a 15-point advantage with 7 1/2 minutes remaining, but Sacramento outscored the Matadors, 11-1, over the next four minutes. Davis led the Hornet charge, scoring seven points on three jump shots during that span.

Except for its free throws, Northridge turned cold, making one of nine field-goal tries during a nine-minute stretch midway through the second half.

Sacramento cut Northridge’s lead to five, 66-61, with 3:40 to play, but could pull no closer. Anthony Moten made a three-point shot from the baseline, Chevalier scored on a full-court dribble-drive and Morris and Peter Micelli each made a pair of free throws to place the Matadors back comfortably ahead, 77-68, with less than a minute to go.

The Northridge duo of Chris Yard and Micelli combined for 31 points and 22 rebounds. Yard had 17 points, Micelli 14, and they each grabbed 11 boards. Micelli made all eight of his free throws.