Northridge Outclassed in Cincinnati, 116-54 : College basketball: No. 13 Bearcats jump out to big lead, force 30 turnovers against Matadors.

When Cal State Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said that shooting at least 50% was a goal each game, he did not mean to imply that getting a shot off every other possession would suffice.

Against a swarming, trapping Cincinnati defense Monday night, the Northridge men’s basketball team struggled merely to do that.

Cincinnati forced 30 turnovers resulting in 42 Bearcat points to deal Northridge its second-most lopsided loss in school history, 116-54, in a nonconference basketball game before a near-sellout crowd of 12,819 in Shoemaker Center.

Northridge (2-4) took only 44 shots--30 fewer than Cincinnati.

The 13th-ranked Bearcats (7-2) made the most of a final tuneup before playing host to undefeated and 24th-ranked California on Wednesday.

They scored 65 points in the first half, the most in school history; they scored the most points in a game since December 1976, when they had 122 against St. Joseph’s (Ind.); and they won by the largest margin since defeating Wright State by 68--also in December ’76.

“I don’t know if it was good for the players, but it was good for me. I had fun,” said Cincinnati Coach Bob Huggins, whose team had won its previous two games in the final seconds.

Said Cassidy: “They came after us like a boxer in a ring. They hit us with a one-two punch.”

And delivered an early knockout.

Cincinnati opened a 21-5 lead in the first 6 1/2 minutes. The Bearcats scored their 55th and 56th points--enough to win--on a pair of free throws by LaZelle Durden with 2:03 remaining in the first half.

Durden, a senior guard, and freshman forward Danny Fortson each scored 24 points to lead the Bearcats. Center Art Long added 15, including 10 in the first five minutes on four dunks and a rebound tip.

Noted for their long-range shooting skills, the Bearcats made only four of 13 from three-point range in the first half. They still led, 65-29.

“The coaches told us to get after them early, to force them to make mistakes and not let them get confident,” Fortson said.

Mission accomplished. Northridge, panicked by the Bearcats’ full-court press, averaged a turnover per minute for most of the first half.

“We’re just not a great ball-handling team, which was evident,” Cassidy said. “We went away from our whole game plan. . . . Panic does that.”

Mike Dorsey had 15 points and Ruben Oronoz 11 for Northridge. Center Peter Micelli, who came in averaging a team-high 12.4 points, made only one field goal and was held to six points. The Matadors were outrebounded, 45-24.

The worst loss in Northridge history took place in the very first game played by what was then known as San Fernando Valley State, in 1958. The Matadors lost to Chapman College, 110-45.

Cassidy played guard on that team.