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SAN DIEGO – Never heard of Cal State Northridge? College basketball fans better start paying attention to the unbeaten Matadors, who posted a 69-58 victory over Northern Kentucky University on Sunday.
Stephan Hicks scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Cal State Northridge past NKU in the final game of the National Urea Cycle Disorders Foundation Challenge. Josh Greene added 14 points and five assists for the Matadors, who improved to 6-0 overall this season.
Leading by just a basket (26-24) at the break, Cal State Northridge hit NKU with a 17-8 run to open the second half for a 43-32 advantage with 11:31 remaining. Hicks converted a pair of conventional three-point plays to key the Matador spurt.
Hicks, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward, was named most outstanding player of the tournament as Cal State Northridge won all four games in the event. The Matadors, who earlier this season knocked off Pepperdine, defeated San Diego, Tulsa, Siena and NKU in the NUCDF Challenge.
“They have a lot of depth, they really know how to get to the line and that's a good team we played,” NKU head coach
Dave Bezold said. “Northridge has a great deal of quickness, but they also have some physical players who draw a lot of contact. They shot 25 free throws in the second half alone, and they made 20 of them.”
The Matadors were 22-for-28 from the free-throw line for the game and limited NKU (0-4) to 36.9 percent shooting from the field. The Norse attempted just seven free throws and converted four of those.
Eshaunte Jones scored 24 points – 18 of those in the second half - to lead NKU, which built a 12-4 lead early in the game.
Jalen Billups added 10 points and three blocked shots for the Norse, who finished 6-for-24 from 3-point range.
Ethan Faulkner scored nine points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists for NKU. Stretch Watson added seven rebounds as the Norse won the battle on the glass by a 38-36 margin.
Sunday marked the first meeting between NKU and Cal State Northridge in men's basketball. The Norse had not visited the west coast since the 1995-96 season, when they split games at Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State Los Angeles.
Cal State Northridge's 6-0 record is the best season-opening start since the Matadors moved to the Division I level in 1990-91. The Matadors are members of the Big West Conference.
NKU plays at Ohio State on Dec. 1 at 4:30 p.m. The Norse are in their first season as a Division I program.
NKU is now 6-28 all-time against NCAA Division I opponents in regular-season games. The Norse's last win against a Division I team in the regular season came on Jan. 14, 1984, when NKU pulled out a 66-64 victory over Tennessee State in Regents Hall.
NUCDF CHALLENGE (Hosted by University of San Diego)
Team Champion: Cal State Northridge (4-0 record in tourney)
Team Runner-up: Tulsa (2-1 record in tourney)
Most Outstanding Player:
Stephan Hicks from Cal State Northridge
All-Tournament Team
Chris Anderson, San Diego
O.D. Anosike, Siena
Johnny Dee, San Diego
Josh Greene, Cal State Northridge
Rashad Smith, Tulsa
Tournament Results:
Nov. 14th
Game #1: San Diego 65, Northern Kentucky 61
Nov. 15th
Game #2: Tulsa 76, Northern Kentucky 56
Game #3: Cal State Northridge 74, San Diego 71
Nov. 16th
Game #4: Cal State Northridge 68, Siena 64
Game #5: Tulsa 63, San Diego 51
Nov. 17th
Game #6: Cal State Northridge 92, Tulsa 76
Game #7: Siena 56, Northern Kentucky 52
Nov. 18th
Game #8: San Diego 77, Siena 60
Game #9: Cal State Northridge 69, Northern Kentucky 58
