Northridge Pays the Price for Free Throws in Defeat

Bobby Braswell wasn’t about to sound off like Charles Barkley.

Braswell, Cal State Northridge basketball coach, probably could have found a few choice adjectives to offer about the officiating after the Matadors were defeated by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 97-88, in overtime in a nonconference game before 2,814 on Saturday night at Mott Gym.

In a see-saw battle that turned one-sided only after regulation ended, 77-77, Cal Poly (3-2) shot 49 free throws to the Matadors’ 15, making 36.

Northridge shot three free throws to the Mustangs’ 24 in the first half.

Cal Poly Coach Jeff Schneider defended the lopsided statistics.

“We’ve just consistently gotten the ball down to the low post,” Schneider said. “We get it down there 75-80 times a game, so we’re going to draw a lot of fouls.”

After the game, it was obvious Braswell wasn’t pleased with the men with whistles around their necks. But he didn’t mimic Barkley, who drew a hefty fine from the NBA for criticizing game officials.

Besides, Braswell was even less pleased with his team’s performance.

“Look at those free-throw statistics,” Braswell said. “I mentioned it to [the officials] at halftime. They got to the free-throw line more than we did.

“But I can’t blame the officials. The bottom line is, they played like they wanted to win. Something the stat sheet doesn’t show is is hustle and effort. They wanted it more than we did.”

Northridge (2-2), coming off an emotional 69-66 victory Tuesday night at Fresno State, appeared flat at times against smaller San Luis Obispo.

The Matadors were out-rebounded, 44-41, and had five turnovers in overtime.

“Basically, we just didn’t do what we needed to do,” forward Jeff Parris said. “[Braswell] was concerned we were taking this game too lightly. I don’t think I was, but maybe we were.”

Northridge led for most of a fast-paced first half. San Luis Obispo pulled even, 30-30 and 37-37, before reclaiming the lead, 39-37, on a two-handed dunk by John Hoffart with 58 seconds left in the half.

San Luis Obispo led, 41-37, at the half.

The lead changed hands 10 times in the second half and nearly ended with a dramatic Mustang victory, but Mike Wozniak’s layup with two seconds to play bounced off the rim.

Overtime was all Cal Poly, with the Mustangs starting with a 7-0 run.

Forward Chris Bjorklund scored nine of his 30 points in overtime, including a basket and free throw that gave the Mustangs an 86-77 lead.

Forward Andre Larry of Northridge fouled out on Bjorklund’s three-point play, joining guard Carl Holmes, who fouled out with 3:26 to play.

“A lot of players were still living off the Fresno State game,” Larry said.

Parris scored 17 points for Northridge, Brian Heinle had 16 and Larry added 14.

Parris’ driving basket on the baseline with 50 seconds to play pulled the Matadors to within 76-75. Markus Carr’s one-handed bank shot with 25 seconds to play knotted the score, 77-77.