CSUN Wins Second Game in a Row : Basketball: Martin comes off the bench to key 73-68 victory over San Diego State.

Could practice be overrated?

Ryan Martin, a senior guard on the Cal State Northridge basketball team, spent most of fall workouts either watching from the sideline or in the training room, rehabilitating an injured back.

Before Northridge’s opener, he had taken part in five practices. So guess who has scored in double-figures--as a reserve, no less--in four of Northridge’s five games?

Martin scored 11 points in 20 minutes, including two key free throws with six seconds left, to help Northridge down San Diego State, 73-68, in a nonconference game played before 676 fans Friday night.

“He’s playing a good role for us,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said. “He comes off the bench and ignites us.”

Martin’s work on the perimeter was complemented by some strong inside work by Peter Micelli. The Matadors’ 6-foot-8 center scored a team-high 17 points as Northridge won its second in a row after opening with three consecutive losses.

“Guys like Ryan come in and hit a few (three-point shots) and it opens up the world for me,” Micelli said.

Guard Robert Hill added 13 points for Northridge, including nine in the first half--all on three-point baskets. Forward Ruben Oronoz matched Martin’s 11 points off the bench, also in 20 minutes.

Northridge shot a season-high 50% yet still was hanging on at the end because of a couple of ill-timed fouls.

The Matadors led, 69-65, with 21 seconds left when Micelli ran over Chad Nelson after the San Diego State guard had launched a three-point attempt. The shot didn’t fall, but Nelson did, prompting a three-shot foul.

Fortunately for Northridge, he made only one. Unfortunately for Northridge, Berry Randle rebounded Nelson’s last miss, allowing Chris Davis to put in a short bank shot.

Randle was fouled by Hill on the play, giving the Aztecs a chance to tie the score at 69 with 14 seconds left. He missed.

After a mad scramble, San Diego State again had the ball and new life, but Brady Trenkle, the son of Aztec Coach Fred Trenkle, was called for traveling with seven seconds left.

Martin’s free throws--and two more by Hill with one second to play--gave Northridge its final margin.

The Matadors made only 18 of 30 free-throw attempts, but San Diego State was even worse, making 11 of 24.

“We could have rebuilt Northridge with the bricks we threw up there,” Fred Trenkle said of his club’s free-throw shooting.