Nov. 28, 2007

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Contact: Brian McCann

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Three-point shooting proved to be the difference on Wednesday night in the Wolstein Center when Cal State Northridge fired in 10 three, including a six-for-10 shooting effort in the second half, as the Matadors pulled away in the second half for a 78-68 win over Cleveland State.

The loss snaps a three-game Viking win streak and drops CSU to 4-3 on the year while Cal State Northridge remains undefeated in four games.

Cedric Jackson was the lone Viking in double figures, finishing with 24 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season. Calvin Chtiwood led the Matadors with 22 points, including a four-for-four effort from beyond the arc.

CSUN had a decisive 38-13 edge in bench scoring as Tremaine Townsend came off the bench to score 16 points with 15 rebounds and Josh Jenkins added 14 points and seven assists.

But the difference proved to be around the perimeter as the Vikings could never find the range from three-point. CSU made just three of its 13 attempts (.231) while the Matadors were connecting on 59-percent of their threes (10-for-17).

"The difference in the game was the three-point shooting," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "We are not a very good shooting team and tonight it showed. At the other end of the court, they had guys making threes that normally don't.

"Just look at Chitwood. He came into the game just one-for-four from three point this year and he only made something like two or three threes all of last year so who would have expected him to do what he did tonight (4-4 from three)?

"I thought that we got fatigued down the stretch because both J'Nathan (Bullock) and Cedric (Jackson) got cramps in the last five minutes and that limited them.

"We are a young team and we still have a lot to learn," Waters added.

The game featured teams used to playing at two different tempos as Cal State Northridge averaged 95.0 points in its first three games while CSU limited opponents to just 64.5 points a game.

The first half played to the Vikings tempo.

After a back-and-forth tussle in the opening minutes, the Vikings appeared to fall out of contention midway through the half when CSU missed eight straight field goal attempts over a 5:38 stretch, turning a 10-9 lead into an 18-10 disadvantage with 6:52 left.

But just as quickly as the offense soured, the tide turned as the Vikings made six straight field goal attempts to take a 24-20 lead with4:52 left.

CSU, which took a 31-29 lead into the halftime, would hold onto the lead for the first eight minutes of the second half. The Vikings pushed the second half lead to as many as four (42-38 & 44-30) but could not pull away.

With the Vikings holding onto a 46-45 lead with 12:20 left, CSUN ran off 11 of the necxt 13 points to take the lead for good (56-48, 7:51).

The tempo the rest of the way favored the Matadors as the Vikings were forced to take chances defensively and the scoring picked up. Cal State Northridge would lead by as many as 11 points (72-61, 1:48) and CSU could come no closer than six points the rest of the way.

Despite the loss, the effort by the Vikings showed produced some positive results.

Freshman forward D'Aundray Brown turned in one of the best performances of his young CSU career, scoring seven points with a career-high seven rebounds.

Senior Breyohn Watson scored a career high nine points, going four-for-six from the field.

Jackson was brilliant again, going nine-for-17 from the field in leading CSU in scoring for the fifth time in seven games this year. He made four steals, his fifth game of four or more steals this year to give him a team-high 22 this year.

The Vikings continue their three-game home stand this week when they host Geneva College on Saturday (Dec. 1) beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Wosltein Center.