Northridge Rallies To Tip Eastern Frigid Second-Half Shooting Offsets King’s 22-Point Night

Cal State Northridge rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to post a 77-66 victory over Eastern Washington Saturday night in Big Sky Conference play at Northridge, Calif.

The Eagles managed just 10-of-30 shooting (33 percent) from the floor in the second half, while the Matadors connected on 14 of 27 shots (52 percent).

Travis King scored a game-high 22 points for Eastern (4-8, 0-2), but hit just 2 of 10 attempts from 3-point range. Mike Sims chipped in with 13 points, while Karim Scott scored 12, grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and had four steals.

The Matadors (6-6, 2-0), who had five players score in double figures, were led by Derrick Higgins’ 14.

The Matadors used a 9-0 run that started 5 minutes into the second half to take a 43-41 lead. An 8-0 run a short time later gave them a 53-46 lead that all but sank the Eagles, who were winless in the Big Sky last season and have won just three conference games in the past three seasons.

Northridge’s horrendous freethrow shooting prohibited it from pushing the lead to more than nine points. Eastern briefly challenged by scoring five straight points to pull to 64-60 with 2:44 to play. But from that point, Northridge made 11 of 16 from the line.

The Eagles’ bench was outscored 31-4 and turned the ball over 10 times.

Cal State Northridge has won five of its last six games, including both Big Sky games in its first season in the conference.

CS Northridge 77, E. Washington 66

E.Washington (4-8) - Egan 3-9 2-2 9, Sima 4-6 5-6 13, Lewis 3-5 0-0 6, King 7-19 6-7 22, Scott 4-12 4-4 12, Moss-Kelley 0-0 0-0 0, Garcille 0-0 0-0 0, Claus 0-2 0-0 0, Berger 0-2 0-0 0, Turner 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 25-38 17-19 66.

CS Northridge (6-6) - K.Higgins 4-6 3-8 11, Samson 1-2 1-4 3, Taylor 3-6 4-4 10, D.Higgins 7-11 0-0 14, Grundy 2-5 3-4 8, Rhoden 2-9 6-6 11, Cross 3-5 3-4 12, Stinson 2-3 2-3 6, Mortes 1-3 0-1 2, Andrews 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-50 22-34 70.

Halftime-E.Washington 35, CS Northridge 28. 3-Point goals- E.Washington 3-17 (Egan 1-5, King 2-10, Scott 0-1, Claus 0-1), CS Northridge 5-16 (D.Higgins 0-3, Grundy 1-3, Rhoden 1-7, Cross 1-3). Rebounds-E.Washington 34 (Scott 9), CS Northridge 33 (K.Higgins, Taylor 6). Assists-E.Washington 13 (Scott 3), CS Northridge 21 (K.Higgins 6). Total fouls-E.Washington 30, CS Northridge 21. A-623.

Wenatchee 74, CC Spokane 64

Dave Mott tossed in 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Wenatchee (1-0, 8-7) to victory in an NWAACC opener in Wenatchee.

Spokane’s Sasquatch (0-1, 6-9), who shot just 35 percent from the floor for the game, were led by the 19 points of Randy Moffatt. Cedrick Day added eight points and 11 rebounds.

CCS also struggled from the freethrow line, making 11 of 23 attempts in the second half and 20 of 37 for the game.

CC Spokane (6-9, 0-1) - Brown 2-4 0-2 6, Strahl 0-2 1-2 1, Moffatt 5-10 6-7 19, Johnston 0-5 5-10 5, Mostek 2-3 0-0 4, Ahrens 2-7 3-6 8, Day 4-13 0-2 8, J.Smith 0-0 0-0 0, DeBeaumont 2-5 3-6 7, Long 0-1 2-2 2, Mammenga 1-3 0-0 2, Kuntz 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 19-54 20-37 64.

Wenatchee Valley (8-7, 1-0) - Mott 8-17 0-0 18, Buettcher 0-2 0-0 0, Gish 0-1 0-0 0, Brayer 6-12 1-2 15, A.Smith 3-8 3-5 9, Hakensen 0-1 0-0 0, Hobart 0-2 2-4 2, Kerns 4-10 2-2 14, Primm 1-4 3-4 5, Cox 1-1 4-6 6, Ward 2-4 1-2 5. Totals 25-62 16-25 74.

Halftime-Wenatchee Valley 37, CC Spokane 33. 3-point goals-CC Spokane 6-17 (Moffatt 3-6, Brown 2-4, Ahrens 1-3, Strahl 0-1, Johnston 0-3), Wenatchee Valley 8-19 (Kerns 4-9, Mott 2-2, Brayer 2-4, Buettcher 0-1, Gish 0-1, A.Smith 0-2). Fouled out-Day. Rebounds- CC Spokane 36 (Day 11), Wenatchee Valley 35 (Mott 8). Assists-CC Spokane 9 (Kuntz 3), Wenatchee Valley 20 (A.Smith 6). Total fouls- CC Spokane 21, Wenatchee Valley 29. Technicals-None. A-NA.

, DataTimes