NORTHRIDGE, Calif. ? The Cal State Northridge men's basketball team will no doubt give thanks Thursday for one will almost certainly prove to be the best shooting half it will have this season Wednesday night in a 92?76 win over CSUB at the Matadome in Northridge.
CSUN (3?0 overall) shot 64 percent from the field (21-of-33) and 57 percent from three?point range (8-of-14) in building a 54?38 halftime lead. The Roadrunners responded with their best shooting half of the season (12-of-21, 57 percent), but eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game allowed Northridge to gain a double?digit lead from which Bakersfield simply couldn't recover.
“Our two shooters did a pretty good job but we have to have a better sense of urgency on the defensive end,” said CSUB Head Coach Keith Brown. “When we got stops, we gave up offensive rebounds. Part of it was that we were young -- we started three freshman -- but it is something we are going to address.”
Junior swingman Terrence Johns (Bakersfield College) caught fire late, scoring 17 of his game?high 25 points in the second half. Zack Grasmick (Strathmore/Granite Hills HS) added 15 points while freshman guard Alex Johnson (Toronto, Ont.) chipped in a career?high eight assists.
Northridge responded with a balanced effort that put six players in double figures. Rodrigue Mels and Tremaine Townsend came off the bench to lead the Matadors with 16 points apiece. That duo led a prolific CSUN bench that contributed 48 points.
Bakersfield will return from the Thanksgiving holiday to host Pepperdine University Sunday afternoon at Rabobank Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Cal State Northridge 92, CSU Bakersfield 76
CSU BAKEESFIELD (1-4) -- Latunde 4-9 5-5 13; C. Brown 3-3 0-0 6; Johnson 1-4 0-0 2; Bragg 1-2 3-4 6; Johnson 7-16 6-6 25; Rose 0-2 1-2 1; R. Brown 1-1 1-1 3; Grasmick 6-11 0-0 15; Hall 1-2 2-4 4; Robinson 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 24-51 19-24 76.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (1-3) -- Heard 3-6 6-6 13; Chitwood 5-9 1-2 11; Miller 3-7 1-3 7; Haynes 5-7 0-0 13; Wayne 0-2 0-0 0; Mels 6-10 0-0 16; Trevesant 2-7 0-0 5; Jenkins 3-6 2-2 11; Colston 0-0 0-0 0; Townsend 7-8 2-4 16. Totals 34-62 12-17 92
Halftime: CSUN 54-38. 3-point goals--CSUB 9-20 (Johns 5-9, Grasmick 3-6, Bragg 1-1, Rose 0-1, Johnson 0-3); CSUN 12-27 (Mels 4-6, Jenkins 3-5, Haynes 3-5, Heard 1-2, Trevesant 1-6, Miller 0-1). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--CSUB 24 (Latunde 6); CSUN 34 (Townsend 10). Assists--CSUB 16 (Johnson 8); CSUN 23 (Jenkins 12). Total fouls--CSUB 14, CSUN 17. Technical fouls--None. A-831
