Northridge Unleashes Its Arsenal

In a final tuneup before opening Big Sky Conference play, Cal State Northridge used a barrage of dunks, steals and three-pointers to blast Lewis-Clark State, 88-51, Tuesday before 551 at the Northridge gym.

Northridge (8-4) led by as many as 43 points in the waning minutes and--to the Matadors’ credit--rarely slipped to the level of the Division II Warriors (5-7), who had only eight players, all of whom were dog-tired trying to keep up with the Matadors’ rotation of 11.

The Matadors forced 31 turnovers and had 17 steals, including seven by senior guard Derrick Higgins, who tied a school record he had equaled twice before.

“I was happy we didn’t have a letdown,” Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell said. “It tells me we are maturing.”

The tone was set early as Northridge took a 15-0 lead, including three dunks by 6-foot-9 forward Andre Larry. The Matadors finished with eight dunks, four by Larry, who had 13 points on six-of-eight shooting.

Northridge forward Rico Harris, who missed five games because of a hip pointer, made only four of 13 shots in 22 minutes but had a game-high 12 rebounds.