Matadors outlast Anteaters

NORTHRIDGE — Coming in with a two-game lead in the loss column atop the Big West Conference standings, host Cal State Northridge acknowledged it had a bull’s eye on its collective back.

UC Irvine had that target squarely in it sights for the first 28 minutes Thursday. But, when it came to crunch time, the Anteaters found it considerably more difficult to display an equally accurate focus on their perimeter shots in their 69-64 Big West loss to the Matadors before 1,508 in the Matadome.

“We came here to try to upset them,” UCI Coach Pat Douglass said of Cal State Northridge (15-4, 7-0 in conference), ranked No. 17 in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major top-25 poll. “We fought hard, we just couldn’t make a bucket when we needed to make a bucket.”

The stretch of which Douglass is referring occurred with the score tied, 40-40, with 12:30 left in the second half. In the next 5 minutes, 26 seconds, UCI committed five turnovers and missed a handful of shots, while scoring just two points.

Northridge, which improved to 7-0 at home, cashed in by making an 11-2 run that eventually turned into a 16-4 spurt that all but ended the upset bid by the Anteaters (8-12, 3-4).

UCI closed to within four with 11 seconds left, but never had a subsequent possession with a chance to pull even

“We had four or five possessions where we didn’t get a good shot, when it was 40-all,” Douglass said. “I thought we didn’t stick to what we had to do [offensively].”

Northridge, which leads the conference in field-goal-percentage defense, blocked shots and steals, had something to say about UCI’s sudden dry spell, which continued for much of the final 10 minutes. After UCI senior center Darren Fells scored on a putback with 9:21 left, the Anteaters went the next 5:51 until they managed their next field goal, a lay-in by Fells, who scored 12 of his game-high 16 points after halftime.

UCI senior Patrick Sanders, who came in leading the team in scoring at 15.4 points per game, had just three points at halftime and five points until the final 22 seconds, during which he produced six points to finish with 11.

The remaining UCI players produced only 13 points after halftime, as Northridge’s aggressive man-to-man defense proved too much for the visitors, who fell to 1-12 in games played outside of Irvine this season.

But Irvine, which finished with 16 turnovers, shot just 37.7% from the field (20 of 53) and 22.7% from three-point range (five of 22), displayed some strong defense of its own.

“Irvine is a great team and they gave us their best shot,” said Northridge senior Jonathan Heard, one of three Matador scorers in double figures with 11. “We know every win isn’t going to be by 20 points [the margin of victory for Northridge in its previous six conference games this season]. Sometimes you’re going to have to grind it out. That’s what we did tonight.”

Northridge had been averaging more than 82 points against conference foes, but with Irvine picking them up at three-quarters court and pressuring relentlessly in the half-court, they struggled to find their offensive rhythm.

“Irvine set the tempo tonight,” Heard said. “We’ve got a target on our backs, so we know everyone is going to give us their best game.”

Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell also was liberal with praise for the Anteaters.

“Irvine showed a lot of passion and a lot of heart and gave us a great game,” Braswell said. “But, when it came down to it, we were able to do the things defensively that we needed to do. We held them to less than 40% shooting, and we had 30 deflections. We weren’t executing the way I like us to on offense, but I give Irvine credit for that.”

After Josh Jenkins opened the game with a three-pointer [the Matadors made four of their first six from beyond the arc and finished seven of 16 from threedom (43.8%)], UCI scored the next seven points.

UCI never let Northridge’s lead surpass six in the first half, which ended with the hosts up, 33-31.

UCI had field goals from eight different players in the first 20 minutes, including a pair of three-pointers by junior guard Brett Lauer, to stay close.

Junior forward Kevin Bland, who was replaced in the starting lineup by Chad DeCasas, making it the first time all season Bland did not start, had eight first-half rebounds in 13 minutes.

But Bland, plagued by foul trouble before fouling out in 22 minutes, finished with just nine boards and just three points.

Senior reserve guard Marcus McIntosh once again provided a spark off the bench for the ’Eaters. He scored 10 points and was one of four visitors with two steals.

“Marcus played hard and I thought [DeCasas, who had seven points and four rebounds] was solid,” Douglass said.

Fells finished five of nine from the field, but was clearly hampered by the strong, quick, athletic front line that took turns harassing him inside.

Big West Conference

Cal Stat Northrige 69, UC Irvine 64

UCI – Sanders 11, DeCasas 7, Fells 16, Lauer 7, Hunter 5, McIntosh 10, Rembert 5, Bland 3.

3-pt. goals – Lauer 2, Sanders 1, DeCasas 1, Hunter 1.

Fouled out – Bland.

CSN – Heard 11, Chitwood 9, Miller 11, Jenkins 15, Haynes 2, Tresvant 9, Mels 4, Wayne 4, Townsend 4.

3-pt. goals – Tresvant 3, Jenkins 2, Heard 1, Chitwood 1.

Fouled out – None.

Halftime – CSN, 33-31.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.