CSUN to Receive Progress Report

Cal State Northridge may own an 18-16 advantage in its men’s basketball series against Cal State Fullerton, but the Matadors will be a decided underdog when they travel to Titan Gym for a nonconference game at Fullerton tonight at 7:30.

Northridge, a National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division II team, will move up to the Division I level next season, and tonight’s game could show the Matadors just how close--or how far away--they are from being ready.

Though the Titans’ preseason schedule has not been rugged, they are 4-0, having beaten Lamar (104-67), West Texas State (89-74), St. Mary’s (85-65) and Tulsa (84-58) by an average margin of 24.5 points.

“I’ll be more surprised with a quick finish than with our start,” second-year Coach John Sneed said. “We haven’t exactly had the hardest schedule, but I was surprised with our victory margin against Tulsa. I thought they were a pretty good team.”

Northridge (3-4), which lost to Fullerton, 87-56, in the schools’ last meeting in 1976, will be looking for its first win of the season against a Division I team.

The Matadors lost road games to Division I Weber State, 67-51, and Utah State, 95-78, earlier this season.

“These games (against Division I teams) are important to us,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said. “They let us know where we stand in relation to next year. They let the coaching staff know where we have to improve in recruiting for next year, what areas we have to shore up.”

Cedric Ceballos, a 6-foot-7 forward from Ventura College, will be Northridge’s biggest worry against Fullerton. Ceballos, a senior, is averaging 27.5 points and 11.3 rebounds a game.

After averaging 21.2 points and 8.8 rebounds and being named to the All-Big West Conference first team as a junior, Ceballos has taken his game to another level.

“He’s improved in a lot of areas,” Sneed said. “He’s a little more under control and he’s better in the ball-handling skills. He’s better at dribbling the ball and passing it. He’s worked on his hand coordination and it shows in his game.”

Ceballos, who scored a career-high 34 points against West Texas State, has been particularly dominant in the second half, averaging 18 points after intermission.

Teammate Mark Hill, a 6-4 senior guard, is the Titans’ second-leading scorer (19.3). Sophomore point guard Wayne Williams leads the team in assists with a 10.5 average and also averages 9.5 points.

Derrick Gathers will lead Northridge, but the 6-4 senior from Philadelphia needs to reverse a trend if the Matadors are to have any chance of beating Fullerton.

Gathers, who is averaging 22 points, has averaged only 6.4 points in the first half, compared to 15.6 in the second.

Northridge’s front line of Kris Brodowski (6-6), Kendell McDaniels (6-4) and Gathers will also have to be solid defensively with Fullerton starting John Sykes (6-8), Ceballos and Agee Ward (6-5) across the front.

The game should also point out the difference in fan support between a Division I and Division II school. Although Fullerton isn’t known for huge fan support, the Titans have drawn an average of 2,027 at home, compared to Northridge’s 278.