Matadors Falter in Second Half

Give the Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team an A for effort.

But the Matadors weren’t letter-perfect, and took a 74-60 loss to Southern Illinois in a nonconference game in front of 1,207 on Sunday afternoon at Northridge.

Northridge and No. 28-ranked Southern Illinois were tied four times in the first half, the Matadors trailed, 29-28, at halftime and the teams were deadlocked, 35-35, with 16:44 to play.

But Southern Illinois (8-1), which has victories over Indiana and Iowa State, went on a 22-9 run for a 57-44 lead and the Matadors never recovered, getting no closer than 61-54 with 4:23 left.

With a roster that includes six freshmen and four junior college transfers, Northridge (1-6) is off to its worst start since opening the 1993-94 season 1-9.

Guard Markus Carr, whose first points came on a 55-foot shot at the halftime buzzer, finished with a game-high 20 points.

The Matadors got nine points from Ian Boylan.

“It’s been the same story for us all [season],” Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell said. “We played about 30 minutes of good basketball. We’ve got to play 40-minute games.”