Stanford Routs Northridge in Season Opener

In the words of Coach Mike Montgomery, Stanford was “a little ragged” Friday night in its basketball opener against Cal State Northridge.

Ragged or not, Dion Cross scored a game-high 22 points, leading four Stanford players in double figures as the Cardinal routed the Matadors, 89-58, in the opening round of the Stanford Invitational.

“Obviously,” the coach of the Cardinal added, “we have a lot of work to do in terms of polish.”

So where does that leave Northridge?

“With a lot of work to do, period,” Coach Pete Cassidy said.

The 31-point margin of defeat tied for the third-worst in the four years Northridge has played basketball on the NCAA Division I level.

Cross, a sophomore guard, made eight of nine shots from the field, including all four of his three-point tries. Stanford, 7-23 last season, shot 57% and forced 23 turnovers.

“We were dominated in every phase of the game,” Cassidy said.

David Harbour, playing in his first game after surgery to reconstruct his right thumb, scored 14 points in 15 minutes for the Cardinal. Harbour had his thumb pulled off in a water skiing accident in the summer of 1992.

Andy Poppink and Todd Manley each had 10 points for Stanford.

Chris Yard led the Matadors with 12 points. Andre Chevalier added 11.