CSUN Can’t Surprise UTEP

Word is traveling quickly about the Cal State Northridge basketball team. And so, the Matadors’ days of sneaking up on Goliath might be over.

The Matadors’ reputation for pulling off upsets on the road preceded them to Texas-El Paso, where a prepared UTEP team inflicted a 93-82 defeat Wednesday night before a boisterous 8,686 at Don Haskins Center.

Northridge (5-3) fell behind by 20 points in the first half and 22 points in the second, and spent the rest of the game trying to whittle away the Miners’ lead.

The Matadors narrowed the gap to eight points on two occasions in the second half. Markus Carr’s two free throws pulled Northridge to within 53-45 with 13:30 to play.

But Northridge, which won at Fresno State and Oregon in the last three weeks, ran out of surprises.

“The road finally caught up with us tonight,” said Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell, whose team finished 3-3 in nonconference road games. “But I respect the fact that this was the first team that gave us a legitimate amount of respect because of what we’ve done. I told [our players], ‘You’re not going to surprise anyone anymore.’ ”

Certainly not the Miners (7-2), whose top assistant, Eddie Hill, played for Braswell at Cleveland High and served one season as his assistant at Northridge.

Hill emphasized to UTEP Coach Jason Rabedeaux that the Matadors might present problems.

“I said, ‘Coach, we’ve got to be ready for them,’ ” Hill said. “Coach Braswell has done a great job with recruiting. They’ve got guys going there who, four years ago, would never have gone to Northridge. And they have such depth.”

So do the Miners, and it showed. Five players scored in double-figures, including forward Roy Smallwood, who scored a game-high 23 points. UTEP also out-rebounded the Matadors, 37-34.

A vociferous crowd, as routinely is the case for visiting Northridge, also played a role.

Center Brian Heinle of Northridge was booed each time he touched the ball after a first-half incident in which he was warned by an official for making a comment toward the opposing bench.

Heinle, the Matadors’ leading scorer this season, finished with eight points--six on three-point baskets.

“I just had a lapse of judgment,” Heinle said. “We just didn’t come out and play the way we play.”

Guard Markus Carr, who had nine points and six assists, said the Matadors, who defeated Oral Roberts on Monday in Tulsa, Okla., might have been road weary.

“Emotionally more than physically,” Carr said. “We come in with a mind set that we don’t worry about the crowd. But we probably let it get to us a little bit. It’s hard to win on the road. We understand that.”

Northridge stayed in the game by going to its big men.

Forward Hewitt Rolle led the Matadors with 21 points and eight rebounds. Forward Jeff Parris had 12 points before fouling out with 3:40 to play and Northridge trailing, 83-61.

“We just didn’t do the little things we need to do to win, like boxing out and getting rebounds,” Rolle said. “We just have to learn from this experience.”

Northridge led early, 2-0 and 4-3, but a 19-2 run by the Miners soon turned the tide and excited the crowd. UTEP led, 28-10, with 11 minutes to play in the first half.

Northridge prevented a blowout by muscling inside. Parris and Carl Holmes made baskets and Heinle made a three-pointer to cut the gap to 35-22, but the Miners countered with a 7-0 run.