After a Loss to Brown, Northridge Finds Itself Feeling a Little Bit Blue : Men’s basketball: Matadors reach new low after blowing 13-point lead in second half of Bears’ 81-72 victory.

There have been worse losses by margin. Several of them.

But worse losses? “I don’t think so,” said Cal State Northridge basketball Coach Pete Cassidy.

Down by 13 points with less than 14 minutes to play, Brown rallied behind the shooting of reserve guards Alan Cole and Oris Bryant to down Northridge, 81-72, Thursday night in the consolation game of the Lobo Invitational at The Pit.

An appropriate name, The Pit. Northridge, 2-7 and loser of four in a row, has sunk to new depths.

“This is definitely the low point,” said Peter Micelli, who scored a game-high 18 points for the Matadors.

Considering Northridge last week lost a game by 62 points, that’s saying something. But Cassidy concurred. “We should have been in command of this game,” he said.

Brown rallied by making seven of 13 three-point attempts in the second half. The Bears missed all but one of their first 10 tries from long range.

Cole, who had one point in the first half, finished with a team-high 17. Bryant scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half. Eric Blackiston also scored 14 for the Bears, who evened their record at 4-4.

“They just turned the tables on us,” Micelli said.

And when they did, Northridge offered little resistance. “We didn’t fight back,” Cassidy said. “Every coach on the bench was trying to get (Matador players) jacked and going.”

In making its decisive run, Brown outscored Northridge, 19-4, in a span of a little more than five minutes. “We got on a nice hot streak at the right time,” said Brown Coach Frank Dobbs.

Northridge helped out, committing 11 of its 17 turnovers in the second half. The Matadors went more than 10 minutes late in the game with only one field goal.

“We were too busy turning the ball over to shoot,” Cassidy said. “We just did a series of real stupid things and didn’t score.”

Micelli scored 14 of Northridge’s 33 second-half points, and the Matadors still didn’t get him the ball nearly enough.

“It was obvious to me they couldn’t stop Micelli, and yet we stopped going to him,” Cassidy said.

Didn’t take an Ivy Leaguer to figure that out.

Also obvious was that Northridge not only was outshot but outhustled by a team that appeared to cherish a victory more.

Robert Hill, Northridge’s floor leader, disagreed with Cassidy’s assessment that the Matadors lacked fight.

“Everybody was talking at halftime about burying them,” said Hill, who scored all nine of his points in the first half.

“The instinct was there. We just didn’t take it onto the floor. I don’t think anybody wanted to fold against a team like this we should beat.”

Ryan Martin and Eric Gray each scored nine points for Northridge. Mike Dorsey added seven points, but he picked up his fourth foul with 11:48 remaining and was on the bench during Brown’s big run.

The Bears’ rally was fueled by an unlikely duo. Although Cole last season led Brown with a 13.4 scoring average, he came in averaging 5.4 points and shooting 22.4%. Bryant, averaging 5.6 points, had made eight three-point baskets in Brown’s seven previous games.

He was four for six against Northridge after being forced into a significant role when Brian Lloyd, who had been the Bears’ most dangerous outside threat, injured his right knee with 12:24 to play.

And so it goes for Northridge, which manages to suffer even when a top opposing player is injured. “I hope,” Hill said, “that this is as low as we go.”

Note

Mike Johnson, a Cal State Northridge assistant basketball coach, was taken by paramedics to Kaseman Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, complaining of chest pains, after Northridge’s loss to Brown. Johnson, 25, was expected to be released late Thursday night. He attributed his discomfort to Northridge’ second-half collapse. “I was so ticked I couldn’t see straight,” said Johnson from the hospital.