Northridge Gets Lost in Midwest : Men’s basketball: Xavier gambols, 101-65, as Matadors suffer worst back-to-back blowouts in school history.

At the end, there was one final insult.

A loose ball was grabbed by a seldom-used reserve who, with one second left, shoveled it into the basket to the delight of the fans.

The basket moved Xavier into triple digits as it overwhelmed Cal State Northridge, 101-65, Wednesday night before 6,451 at Cincinnati Gardens, not-so-mercifully ending the Matadors’ five-day trip to Ohio.

Two games. The worst back-to-back blowouts in school history. A 62-point loss against 13th-ranked Cincinnati. A 32-point first-half deficit against Xavier, unranked but winner of seven of eight.

“Next time when I travel,” said Ruben Oronoz, a Northridge forward, “I’m going to make sure I go around this state.”

Teammates and coaches expressed similar sentiments. “In light of the results, yes, I’m happy we’re going home,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said.

Northridge (2-5) had won two in a row at home before the trip. The Matadors return having allowed more than 100 points in back-to-back games for the first time in four years.

Same old story. Turnovers forced by an opponent’s tenacious full-court pressure. Against Xavier, 29 turnovers--one less than Northridge made against Cincinnati.

In the first half, Northridge committed 22 turnovers--more than one per minute--and attempted 24 shots.

“It’s difficult to win that way,” Cassidy said.

When they weren’t coughing it up, the Matadors were hacking away. Northridge was called for 36 fouls to Xavier’s 19, including a 21-7 margin in the first half.

“I think Xavier is plenty talented enough to play us straight up,” Cassidy said, referring to the foul differential. “I don’t think they needed that kind of help.”

They got it anyway. Xavier made 40 of 49 free throws, Northridge 16 of 23.

“I was at the point where I was laughing,” said center Peter Micelli, who paced Northridge with 12 points. “That’s what happens when you get to that third-and-final stage, past being frustrated and angry.

“Some of those calls . . . all I could do was laugh.”

The Musketeers took control midway through the first half by scoring 24 points in a row in a span of less than eight minutes.

During Xavier’s run, Northridge took only seven shots--and that’s counting one that was supposed to be a pass but ricocheted off the rim. In the same stretch, the Matadors committed 10 turnovers, including four on offensive fouls.

Half of the Musketeers’ two-dozen consecutive points came at the free-throw line. At one point, Xavier scored on 11 straight possessions.

When Rob Hill finally ended Northridge’s drought by sinking a three-point shot, the partisan crowd derisively cheered.

“None of us could get a good shot off,” said Oronoz, who scored 10 points before fouling out. “We weren’t setting good picks and it seemed like everyone was forcing shots or trying to get fouled.”

DeWan Rose, subbing at center for Larry Sykes, led Xavier with 16 points. Sykes sat out after being arrested early Tuesday morning in Anderson Township for drunken driving.

Sears added 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Musketeers. T.J. Johnson had 13 points, Jeff Massey 12 and Michael Hawkins 10. Tyson Brit contributed nine rebounds for Xavier, which had a 49-32 advantage on the boards.

Northridge gamely fought back at the outset of the second half, scoring nine consecutive points in the first 3 1/2 minutes.

“Our guys hustled,” Cassidy said. “They were really upset and, for a stretch, anyway, they played like they’re capable of.”

Northridge whittled its deficit to a low of 22 points with 14:48 to play, but Xavier responded by scoring on nine of its next 10 possessions to go ahead, 78-44, with 10 minutes left.

“We were going out to try to earn some respect back,” said Tom Samson, who scored a career-high 11 points.