Hip Bruise to Sideline Bowser for Key Game

The hopes of the Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team rest largely on the performance of the Matadors’ largest player, Todd Bowser.

CSUN, therefore, with its 6-foot, 8-inch, 280-pound junior center seated squarely on the bench, will be an underdog tonight against Cal State Dominguez Hills, a team that likely will contend for 1 of the 4 berths in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. playoffs.

Bowser is sidelined because of a deep bruise in his left hip, an injury suffered Thursday night in a home game against Chapman.

A chase for a loose ball ended in a collision between Bowser and the bleachers behind the Chapman bench.

Score it a TKO for the bleachers. It took several minutes before Bowser, a 3-year starter, was helped up and led to the training room. X-rays of the hip taken Friday afternoon at Encino Hospital were negative, according to Jim Bowser, Todd’s father.

Todd Bowser and CSUN Coach Pete Cassidy could not be reached for comment Friday night.

Northridge was leading Chapman, 30-26, when Bowser left the game with 4:50 remaining in the first half. Chapman rallied to win, 79-74, dropping CSUN to 11-6 overall, 2-2 in conference play.

Dominguez Hills also has an 11-6 record. The Toros are 3-1 in CCAA play, their only loss coming to second-ranked UC Riverside, 59-58, on Jan. 19.

Anthony Blackmon, a preseason Division II All-American, is Dominguez Hill’s top player. He leads the CCAA with averages of 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds a game.

Blackmon, a 6-8 senior, has been a pain in the hip to Northridge because he scores a lot of points away from the basket. Blackmon’s penchant for the perimeter made him a tough man-to-man match-up for the bulkier Bowser.