VALLEY ROUNDUP : Hot Offense Can’t Rescue CSUN

Taking a particularly skewed view of things, an optimist might say that Cal State Northridge was, on Monday, only one point worse than Indiana.

The Hoosiers have the distinction of scoring the most points, 79, in a game this season against Washington State’s oft-suffocating defense.

Northridge scored 78 against the Cougars in a first-round game in the Fresno State Classic.

One important difference: Indiana won by 15. Northridge lost by the same margin: 93-78.

Surprisingly, scoring wasn’t a problem for the Matadors, who shot a respectable--for them--45% from the field.

But playing defense? Now that was a problem.

Washington State shot 61%, including 69% (18 of 26) in the first half.

Fred Ferguson, a 6-foot-9 forward who came in averaging 4.6 points a game, scored 18 without taking a shot from farther than five feet. His previous career best was 11.

Was it any wonder then that Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy afterward offered a one-word answer to a leading, multiple-choice question?

Asked whether he attributed the Cougars’ scoring output to great shooting, great team play or poor defense, he replied, “Yes.”

Actually, Cassidy’s worst fear was not realized.

On the day prior to the game, the Northridge coach jokingly asked Kelvin Sampson, his Washington State counterpart, to call off the Cougars’ renowned full-court press.

“I thought it was going to be unfair,” Cassidy said. “I thought the fans came to watch the game go up and down where they’d give us a chance to shoot too. I thought maybe they were not even going to let us get the ball in bounds.”

Northridge executed against the press, but instead struggled at the other end against Washington State’s inside-outside combination of Ferguson and Eddie Hill.

Hill, a former Cleveland High star, made six of nine three-point shots on his way to a game-high 24 points.

A former Cleveland teammate, Andre Chevalier, scored 16 points for Northridge and got the best of Hill in one verbal exchange.

After Hill drained one of his four three-point baskets in the second half, Chevalier came back on the other end and, with Hill guarding him closely, sunk a long-range jumper of his own.

“Right back at ya,” he chided.

Chevalier won the battle, Hill the war.

Washington State is 9-1, Northridge the flip-side, 1-9.

The Matadors trailed by 16 at the half, but were chipping away at the deficit until one fateful stretch midway through the second half.

With a key opportunity to cut Washington State’s advantage to 10, Chevalier misfired on a lob pass intended for Brent Lofton, and the Cougars converted the turnover into the start of a 9-0 run.

Tony Harris ignited the scoring spree with a baseline jumper, which, after a Northridge miss, was followed by a three-point basket by Hill.

Back-to-back turnovers by Northridge led to back-to-back layups by Dominic Ellison, a freshman point guard from Morningside High.

All of a sudden, Washington State shifted back into cruise control with a 84-68 lead.

“We got back to a point, which we seem to do a lot,” said Lofton, who scored 15 points in his third start of the season. “But we never can seem to get over that hill.”

Or, in this case, that Hill.

“He’s sneaky,” said Brooklyn McLinn, who attempted to guard Hill while also scoring 16 points for Northridge. “He comes from behind you, spots up, and he has that quick release. The ball’s just gone.”

Harris added 16 points for Washington State, Ellison had 14 and Mark Hendrickson had 11.

“They have hellacious defensive ballplayers,” Cassidy said. “And they can shoot the ball, too.”

Northridge plays Montana State tonight at 6 in the consolation final, and Fresno State meets Washington State in the 8 p.m. championship game.

Notes

Jeff Garcia, a junior from Fremont, Calif., will not play for the Matadors this season. Garcia, a 6-4 shooting guard, failed in his attempt to gain academic eligibility at mid-semester, a school spokesman said Monday.

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In other men’s college basketball games:

Moorpark 103, Antelope Valley 87--Paul Foster had 29 points and 20 rebounds to lead Moorpark (12-4) in the first round of the College of the Canyons Tournament. Orville Turner had 29 points for Antelope Valley (7-8).

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In women’s college basketball:

Valley 65, Compton 58--Cicely Brewster had 15 points and 15 rebounds to lead Valley (5-9) in a first-round game of the Fullerton Tournament.

BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

Senior center Vernon Simmons made nine of 10 shots from the field Monday to lead Simi Valley High to a 69-36 victory over Garfield in the first round of the Hart Tournament at Hart High.

Simmons, who finished with a game-high 19 points, was one of four Simi Valley players to score in double figures.

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In other first-round games:

Palmdale 59, Glendale 55--Albert Lairson scored 15 points to lead Palmdale. Henrik Bandari scored 16 points for Glendale.

Banning 65, Littlerock 58 (OT)--John George scored a team-high 15 points to lead Littlerock.

Culver City 82, San Fernando 64--Jerome Elliott scored a team-high 17 points for San Fernando.

Manual Arts 74, Royal 55--Scott Hambly scored a game-high 21 points for Royal.

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In first-round games from other tournaments:

Harvard-Westlake 57, Downey 45--Freshman twins Jason and Jarron Collins combined for 31 points and 20 rebounds to lead Harvard-Westlake (9-0) in the Covina Tournament. Jason Collins scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds, and brother Jarron added 18 points and nine rebounds.

Chaminade 63, Yeshiva 42--Mike Wang and John Gunn scored 16 points apiece for Chaminade in the Chaminade Tournament.

Cleveland 47, Santa Monica 37--Edtwaun Adams scored a team-high 11 points to lead the Cavaliers (7-4) in the Chaminade Tournament.

Campbell Hall 80, St. Monica 65--Simeon Woodall scored 15 of his 36 points in the first quarter and added 16 rebounds to lead the Vikings (11-2) in the Chaminade Tournament. Alex Lopez had 18 points for Campbell Hall.

Montclair Prep 72, South Bay Lutheran 43--Sophomore forward A.J. Jones scored a game-high 18 points and added 15 rebounds to lead Montclair Prep (8-2) in the Chaminade Tournament.

Taft 80, Canoga Park 52--Three Toreadors scored at least 18 points in the Eagle Rock tournament. Ricky Steele led Taft (8-3) with 21 points, followed by Lamont Magee (19) and Alton Arrington (18).

Oak Park 82, Morro Bay 57--Shawn Williams scored 21 points and Brandon Creason added 18 to lead the Eagles (9-1) in the Santa Paula Tournament.

Agoura 48, Gardena 36--Brian Laibow scored 12 points and added five steals to lead Agoura in the Artesia Tournament. Benon Ureda had 13 points for Agoura (5-2).