College Basketball MEN : CSUN Plays Both Ends to Defeat Cal Poly SLO, 66-45

It took 17 games this season, but the Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team finally put together a game at both ends of the court Friday night.

Led by a tenacious defense and some clutch shooting, the Matadors knocked off arch-rival Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 66-45, at the CSUN gymnasium. The victory was CSUN’s first win over the Mustangs since Jan. 12, 1979. It also snapped CSUN’s five-game losing streak to Cal Poly.

The defeat was the third of the season for the No. 20-ranked Mustangs, who dropped to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. The Matadors improved their record to 10-7 overall and 2-1 in the league. They are tied for second place in the CCAA entering tonight’s 7:30 contest against No. 11-ranked Cal State Bakersfield.

The Matadors turned a 27-17 halftime lead into a 21-point rout mostly behind the play of guard Rafael Meza, who led all scorers with 17 points. Forward Larry White scored 14 points and hauled down seven rebounds.

The Matadors scored just one more field goal than the Mustangs, who tried to dictate the tempo of the game with their deliberate, patterned offense. But CSUN outscored Cal Poly, 28-9, at the free-throw line.

CSUN shot 57.5% from the floor, hitting on 19 of 33 shots in the game.

Cal Poly was led by forward Nate Hatten, who had 10 points. Guard James Blevins added nine in 23 minutes off the bench.