Northridge Lays AWC to Rest in Familiar Fashion: a Defeat

The Cal State Northridge basketball team completed the final American West Conference regular season Saturday night with an 83-66 loss before 649 at Cal State Sacramento.

The Matadors (6-19, 2-4 in conference play) finish tied with Sacramento (6-19, 2-4) for third place in the four-team conference. Because the teams split their regular-season games, a draw will decide the seedings for the conference tournament.

Ruben Oronoz scored 11 of his team-high 14 points in the first half. The loss snapped Northridge’s six-game winning streak against Sacramento State dating to 1993.

Eric Gray added 11 points, including three-of-seven shooting from three-point range. Trenton Cross scored 10 points, giving him three consecutive games with double-figure scoring.

The Hornets led by as many as 23 points late in the second half.

Sacramento State used an 8-0 run to take a 27-18 lead on Michael Boyd’s layup with 5 minutes 54 seconds left before halftime. The Matadors pulled to within four, but the Hornets scored the final seven points of the first half and held a 39-28 halftime lead.