Prosperity Too Much for CSUN : Basketball: Riding high after beating Fullerton, Matadors build 14-point lead before falling flat against Pepperdine, 90-81.

Pepperdine was without its top two scorers and Cal State Northridge got its top scorer back right before a nonconference basketball game Tuesday night at Matador Gym.

So, of course, Pepperdine won, 90-81.

The Matadors, who rallied from a 14-point deficit to win by one Saturday night against Cal State Fullerton, blew an early 14-point lead this time.

“I think we just got complacent,” Northridge forward Eric Gray said. “They didn’t quit and we thought we had it in the bag too early.

“They had their two stars out and we had a 13-1 lead and it was like, this is too easy.”

The Waves (3-2) played without forward Gerald Brown and guard Bryan Hill. Brown had an infected hair follicle in his left armpit drained on Monday. Hill aggravated a shoulder injury in the Waves’ game Saturday against Georgia Southern.

Northridge’s leading scorer, Damion Morbley, did not start because he missed practice on Monday, but he played 17 minutes and scored 18 points.

The Matadors couldn’t deal with Pepperdine’s quickness or 7-foot center Gavin Van Der Putten, who blocked six shots.

Pepperdine forward Will Weir, playing himself into shape after being out because of a sinus infection, picked up the slack for Brown with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

Guard Marques Johnson scored 32 points for the Waves, including four-for-nine shooting from three-point range.

The key series in the game was when Pepperdine broke a 70-70 tie with a 7-0 run. The stretch was keyed by two of Northridge’s nine second-half turnovers.

The final points of the run came at the 2:16 mark, when Gray’s pass was intercepted by Weir, who passed to Khary Hervey for a layup that turned into a three-point play when he was fouled by Gray.

“I’d like to give credit to the kids at Pepperdine, who just would not be denied,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said.

Trenton Cross added 16 points for the Matadors (1-3), who began the game with their best 20 minutes of the season.

Northridge’s aggressive defense, coupled with Pepperdine’s sloppy ballhandling, resulted in the Matadors leading the entire first half, by as many as 14 points.

Northridge had four first-half steals that turned into easy layups or dunks. Pepperdine turned the ball over 14 times in the half.

Northridge’s lead dwindled because of six turnovers in the final 7:28 of the half, fueling a 22-12 Pepperdine run that pulled the Waves within 43-40 at halftime.

Pepperdine, with more hot three-point shooting and ball-hawking defense, rallied from an eight-point deficit with a 12-0 run early in the second half.