SoCalHoops College News

Saturday's SoCal College Games: Waves,
CSUN Win, SDSU Loses; UCI Wins--(Nov. 15, 1998)

We're going to work this in reverse chronolgical order, except for the Irvine game which was played Friday.  San Diego State played last night and lost 76-71 in overtime; Pepperdine played at 5:00 p.m. against UCSB at Firestone Fieldhouse, and just hammered the Gauchos, 71-51.  And earlier in the day, at 2:00 p.m. at the Pyramid, Bobby Braswell's CSUN team pounded Wayne Morgan's Long Beach State 49'er's, 83-65.

First San Diego: 

We didn't get to go to San Diego last night (we were at USC),  but from reading our message board with the reports from the game at Cox Arena,  one would think that the season was "over," "lost", "gone", "kaput."  Don't just fire Trenkle, hang him from the rafters, burn him in effigy.

Well, ok, SDSU did lose, but it was only by 5 points to a strong Nevada-Reno team.  The Aztecs had an opportunity to put the game away,  but Matt Watts, a senior guard who had gone 5-for-6 from the up until then missed two free throws with 16 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime where the Aztecs lost by 5, 76-71.  He did, however, finish with a career high 29 points.   "Those (free throws) are still in my head, but it's over," Watts told the Union-Tribune after the game.  Watts and center Marcelo Correa, combined for 41 points.

But what about the freshmen?  They combined for only 21 points.  Myron Epps had 12, Vince Okotie only had two points, and David Abramowitz only had three points in limited playing time.  Joe Mann from Poway only played four minutes but didn't score, and we understand that for some inexplicable reason, Jeffrey Berokoff didn't play at all.

The Aztecs stayed close throughout the first half, and only trailed by one, 31-30 at the half.  They had their biggest lead in the game in the second half with about 12:00 minutes remaining when Watts scored off the transition to give SDSU a 5--46 lead. But then they went cold, and the Aztecs only scored two points in the final 2 minutes of regulation.  In the overtime, the Aztecs failed to score a field goal in the first 4:21 (out of 5 minutes) and were outscored 9-1.    

We're not sure what happened, but we can't wait to see how this team really looks in person. We're planning on going over to the Sports Arena on Tuesday night as the Aztecs will play USC, and we'll have a report (and some pictures too).

Pepperdine v. Santa Barbara:

Meanwhile, earlier in the day,  at Malibu, Pepperdine's young team outmuscled and out ran Santa Barbara in the season opener for each team.  Pepperdine struck first, scoring the first 10 points of the game, and the Gauchos never recovered, losing 71-51.  Jelani Gardner, a  transfer from Cal two years ago, led the way with a game-high 19 points and six assists. David Lalazarian (6'-7" So. F)  a transfer from Notre Dame, added 14 points, and senior center Marc McDowell (6'-7" Sr. F) a transfer from Mesa,  Arizona Community College, came off the bench for 12 points and seven rebounds.

Bob Williams' Gaucho coaching debut got off to a horrible start.  B.J. Bunton (6'-7" Sr. F) and Josh Merrill (6'-9" Sr. F) played well, getting 16 and 10 points respectively, but Pepperdine never let the Gauchos get any closer than four.  Brandon Payton (6'-0" So. G), brother of NBA all-star Gary Payton, was held to only eight points.  Santa Barbara has a lot to work on especially in the Big West, while Pepperdine has a potential WCC title to look forward to.

Pepperdine plays UC Irvine this Tuesday at Firestone at 7:00 p.m. in what will be the season opener for Irvine. Last Friday night, they played the Double Pump California All-Stars, the "West" team, which featured Lorenzo Rollins,  Fred Edmonds,  Joel Vogel, Jim Williamson, Jerry Gee, Damon Crump, Brandon Titus, Rozell Ellis, Ken Hotopp, and Chris Dade.  

Irvine v. California All-Stars:

And as long as we're on the subject of Irvine, let's digress to talk a bit about how they looked in their last exhibition on Friday, which they won 73-55. Ben Jones (6'-7" So. F) scored a game high 20 points and 8 boards on Friday, 15 in the first half when it really counted, and it's clear that he's a lot stronger this season, and won't struggle like he did last year. He no longer depends on hanging around the three-point line, and can work the mid-range and interior plays, and he was especially effective on transition, banking in a running shot that gave the Anteaters' a 26-21 lead. At one point in the second half, Jones beat the press with a behind the back dribble, then grabbed a rebound, and Brian Scoggin ( 6'-2" Sr. G) for an easy layup.  Irvine broke the game open with an 18-4 run to start the second half with six players scoring.  The team looked a lot better than it did against Calgary last week, and we think they'll improve on their performance from last year with some fine new players.

Mark Ondera (6'-6" Jr. F) had 12 points and played 32 minutes, Stan Divranos (6'-8" So. F) had 4 points and 8 boards, in 19 minutes, while Jason Flowers (6'-1" So G) didn't scored and struggled in his 26 minutes.  Malachi Edmond (6'-0" So. G) scored three points in 15 minutes, and Jerry Green (6'-3" Fr. G) hit for 6 points in 17 minutes, and he had 3 assists, and it would seem he's certainly capable of running the point. Geez, a lot of freshmen point guards this season, aren't there.

Gabe Cagwin (5'-10" Fr. PG) had 12 points and 3 assists, shooting 2-5 from the field in 22 minutes, while Zamiro Bennem (6'-3" Fr. G) had only 2 points, and played sparingly, only 6 minutes overall. Brian Scoggin (6'-2" Sr. G) Steve's brother scored only 2 points in 9 minutes,  and Mark Gottschalk (6'-10" Fr. C) didn't score at all playing 15 minutes.  He'll have to improve his inside play during the season, and we'd expect him to get pushed around a little bit by Pepperdine on Tuesday.  Matt Willard (6'-9" Sr. F) on the other hand was pretty effective, scoring 12 points, shooting 6'-7 from the field. in only 12 minutes.

Long Beach v. CSUN:

Rico Hines (right) agaisnt the California All-Stars

But back to yesterday. Finally (or really first) at 2:00 p.m. at the Pyramid, CSUN absolutely caught the 49ers flat-footed, beating Wayne Morgan's squad 83-65.  As the Long Beach Press Telegram wrote this morning: "The supposedly new-look Long Beach State men's basketball team looked so much like last season's dreary outfit in its season opener Saturday that Mate Milisa, one of the many newcomers, remarked, "I am so embarrassed . . . I never imagined anything like this. It can't happen again."

Oh yes it can.  And it did on Saturday.   CSUN just flat out out-played the 49'ers.  Long Beach started out ok, leading by five shortly into the first half.  But then Northridge went on an 11-0 run, and took the lead by nine at halftime 43-34. This was a sort of homecoming for Bobby Braswell, who was a 49er assistant from 1989-92.  But back then there was no Pyramid and he never got the chance to coach in the building.  And as the LA Times noted this morning, "It was worth the wait."

There was another homecoming of sorts for CSUN's Jeffrey Parris (6'-6" Jr. F) who played at Long Beach Jordan. He scored a game high 18 points on 8-10 shooting, and was one of seven Matadors with at least 8 points.   Northridge was very deep, playing 9 players for more than 10 minutes each. After the half,  Long Beach State pulled within 46-44 on D'Cean Bryant's dunk four minutes into the second half, but then Bryant was hit with a technical for taunting Andre Larry after the shot.  Amazingly, Braswell sent Rico Harris (6'-8": Jr. F) to the line for the t-shots, and he made them both. So at least we know the big guy can shoot.   He didn't get to play much in the first half, as he quickly picked up two fouls, and Braswell, true to form, pulls anyone when they get two fouls in quick succession, and Rico sat until the second half.  The technical took a lot out of Long Beach, and a few minutes later they trailed by 17 points, and never really got back into it.   

For Long Beach Milisa and Richie Smalls each had 16 points, Ramel "Rock" Lloyd had 15 and Tommie Davis 11. Northridge shot 53 percent (31 for 59), and most were from close range or uncontested shots.  Long Beach learned just how deep it's bench is, and frankly, if it were a pool, you wouldn't even get your feet wet.  The 49'ers got 1 point (one) from their bench.  Northridge got 37.  Does that explain things?  It should.

According to the Long Beach Press Telegram, "The 18-point drilling wasn't the 49ers' worst loss in the 6-year-old Pyramid, but close. Two years ago they lost by 25 to Boise State; in 1994-95 they lost by 20 to New Mexico State, and last season they had two 19-point losses at home, to Norfolk State and to Pacific."

But just wait until Utah gets to town in three weeks.  You might want to bring an air-sickness bag.  Or just a bag to put over your head if you're at all squeamish.

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