Matadors Make it Easy on Braswell

It’s a streak.

The Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team won for the second consecutive time, dumping hapless UC Irvine, 77-53, in a nonconference game Saturday night at Northridge.

And this time, the Matadors (3-5) didn’t have to sweat it out until the final seconds to find out their fate, as in the four games they lost with 10 or fewer seconds to play.

“My blood pressure is probably the lowest it has been at a basketball game in a long time,” said Bobby Braswell, Northridge’s first-year coach.

It was the first time the Matadors have won two straight since beating Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Sacramento State in February, 1995.

The Matadors started sluggishly against Irvine (0-6), forcing passes that missed their target or found the wrong one and taking poor percentage shots.

They trailed, 16-11, before forward Keith Higgins had several thunderous dunks that helped Northridge to a 38-30 halftime lead.

“We kept our composure,” said Higgins, who finished with a season-high 20 points. “We believe in each other. If you believe in each other, you are going to keep playing hard.”

The Matadors tightened their defense in the second half and swung the ball around the perimeter much more sharply, working for better shots and taking advantage of Irvine turnovers to gradually pull away.

Northridge blitzed Irvine with a 12-4 run to open the second half to take a 50-34 lead on a three-point basket by Lucky Grundy from the right wing. Grundy, a junior guard, finished with 13 points.

“[Grundy] has been money for us,” Braswell said. “He’s made great decisions. It was just another great game for him.”

Only Irvine forward Brian Johnson, back after missing two games because of a toe injury, was able to break through the Northridge defense that forced 23 turnovers.

Johnson scored Irvine’s first seven points in the second half, six of them on dunks, and finished with 16 points.

The Matadors, however, matched Johnson dunk-for-dunk, slamming the ball through the hoop a season-high nine times. Keith Higgins had five of the dunks, including one on a lob pass from brother Derrick (12 points), who tied a school single-game record with seven steals.

“We weathered the storm,” Braswell said. “[Irvine] ran a trapping defense that threw our guys off a little [in the first half] but I’m proud of the way our guys responded.”

The Matadors, who beat Pepperdine, 68-57, on Thursday, now have two victories against Division I teams this season. But Keith Higgins warned against Northridge becoming complacent.

“We have a lot to do,” Higgins said. “If any of our guys get cocky, we are in trouble because we haven’t accomplished anything yet.”

Said Matador forward Kevin Taylor: “We spoke of tasting victory. Now that we’ve tasted it, we want to keep eating more and more.”

Taylor had eight points and nine rebounds.

The Matadors outscored Irvine at the free-throw line, 21-12, and outrebounded the Anteaters, 39-27.