Matadors Celebrate a Colorado High, 73-54

There were smiles and laughter around the Cal State Northridge basketball team on Saturday night.

The Matadors beat a Division II team.

After losing to the Colorado School of Mines on Tuesday night, the Matadors got themselves back on track by beating Colorado-Colorado Springs, 73-54, in a nonconference game before 558 at Matador Gym.

“You can’t have back-to-back Division II losses,” Northridge point guard Trenton Cross said. “I’m afraid to think of what practice would have been like tomorrow if we had lost two.”

The Matadors (4-9) finish their three-game string against Division II teams by facing Grand Canyon on Tuesday.

“It feels good,” Northridge forward Ruben Oronoz said. “It was definitely better than Tuesday night. There was a lot of emotion and intensity. We had been going up and down and I hope we can keep on this ride for a while.”

The Matadors got off to a relatively slow start, taking nine minutes to pull away from Colorado Springs (3-10). But Northridge played better in the second half and blew the game open.

Northridge’s 51% shooting from the floor marked the first time this season they had surpassed 50%.

“I wouldn’t say we played great,” Cross said. “We could have played better, but we played well.”

Northridge led most of the first half and took a 29-19 lead into the locker room.

One of the keys to Northridge’s improved play was the reemergence of forward Eric Gray. Gray, normally the team’s best shooter, had been in a slump for most of the season, but he made three of five first-half shots, including two of four from three-point range.

Gray finished with 13 points. Tom Samson scored 12 points and Robert Hill added 10 for the Matadors.

Northridge continued to get solid play from virtually the entire roster in the second half, leading by as many as 21 points. The Matadors’ largest lead at any point this season had been 14, and that came in a game they lost.

The game was a homecoming for Colorado Springs Coach Mark Felix, a former Matador player and assistant under Coach Pete Cassidy. Felix had a sizable cheering section of his former teammates.

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Matador Notes

Center Kevin Taylor still has not decided if he should use his redshirt season this year. Taylor has played in only four games because of an injured right knee. . . . Leading scorer Damion Morbley was in uniform but did not play Saturday night. Morbley is recovering from the flu.