Nothing Shaky About CSUN’s Return Home : College basketball: Matadors celebrate first game in their gym since the earthquake by defeating Grand Canyon, 95-84, before a paltry crowd of 301.

So much for basketball providing an entertainment release for students brave enough to attend Cal State Northridge.

Inside the Northridge gym Tuesday night, 301 fans gathered to watch the Matadors, playing their first home game in six weeks, defeat Grand Canyon (Ariz.), 95-84.

Earlier in the day, crowds approaching that size watched with awe and amusement as the school’s three-tiered parking structure--without the aid of aftershocks--continued to crumble.

Reportedly, they were cheering louder for the building to fall than they were later for the Northridge basketball team to rise.

Not even the Matador cheerleaders showed for the game.

Many of those who did were made uneasy by a public address announcement beforehand.

First, the crowd was told that the gym was safe and “free from any structural problems following the Jan. 17 earthquake.”

Then came the kicker: In the event of an aftershock, the man with the mike said, “You may wish to hold the hand or embrace the person next to you, but do not panic. . . . “

“I was like, ‘Don’t say that now. We came here to play,’ ” Grand Canyon Coach Leighton McCrary said.

Even the quake-tested veterans on the Northridge side had to react to those supposedly reassuring words.

“I thought it was funny,” Matador guard Andre Chevalier said. “If an earthquake hit when I was on the floor I’d be out of the building. I’d dribble right out the door.”

Fortunately, there was no need for that.

Instead, Chevalier went dribbling around and through the Grand Canyon defense, then riddled it with holes, scoring 25 points. He also made four steals and tied career-highs with 11 assists and six rebounds.

“Is he a gem or what?” McCrary said. “He’s the catalyst of that ballclub. He has that air about him that he can’t be stopped and he can stop you.”

Near the end, he did exactly that. Chevalier scored six of Northridge’s final eight points in the last one minute and five seconds.

Northridge (6-16) led by as many as 15 points early in the second half. But with 7:18 left, Grand Canyon had trimmed its deficit to 72-70.

The Antelopes still were in striking distance, down, 88-84, with less than a minute left.

Chevalier responded by sinking three free throws, then swiping the ball from Grand Canyon guard Fredy Gutierrez and racing the length of the floor for a layup.

“He took over,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said.

Brooklyn McLinn backed Chevalier with 23 points and six assists. Brent Lofton added 16 points in 20 minutes off the bench. Peter Micelli and Shawn Stone added 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Matadors, who shot a season-best 62.3%.

Much of Northridge’s shooting success can be attributed to the penetrating and passing of Chevalier and McLinn, who routinely knifed through the Grand Canyon defense either to set up easy shots for their teammates or make acrobatic shots of their own.

“Ever notice how the shooting percentage goes up when you get inside like that?” Cassidy said.

Grand Canyon also provided an example of that.

Tom Shuey, the Antelopes’ bulky 6-foot-8 center, scored 20 points without making a shot from farther than five feet.

Shuey, who Cassidy described as a “big, strong, solid journeyman player,” looked like Shaquille O’Neal against the defenseless Matadors.

Northridge once recruited Shuey. Instead, he chose to attend Utah, then transfer to Grand Canyon, which is located near Phoenix.

“I liked him then,” Cassidy said, “and I like him now.”

Dana Pope looked even better. He led the Antelopes (10-13) with 24 points and also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Nine of Pope’s boards came on the offensive end. Grand Canyon had 20 offensive rebounds to Northridge’s 10.

“We couldn’t get anything going on both ends of the floor at the same time,” Cassidy lamented.

Against a sub-.500 Division II team, offense was enough.

Perhaps Northridge was lucky more fans didn’t show up.

Cassidy diplomatically blamed the small turnout on parking problems and burnout caused by the usual confusion of the first few days of a semester. The Northridge campus, such as it is, reopened on Monday.

However, Cassidy also admitted, “If we were ranked No. 1, they’d have been there.”

Chevalier, who moved into second place on Northridge’s career scoring list, said he was just happy to be home--despite a gym left dirty and dusty as the result of the crumbling parking structure located only the length of a football field away.