California State University Northridge Athletics
California State University at Northridge
9-22, 4-11BWC
UC Riverside
14-14, 7-7BWC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC Riverside | 36 | 40 | 76 |
| CSUN | 36 | 47 | 83 |
CSUN Clinches Big West Tournament Bid, Holds Off UC Riverside on Senior Night
3/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
En Español
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -
In a hard-fought game on Senior Night, the CSUN Matadors (9-22, 4-11 Big West) outlasted the visiting UC Riverside Highlanders (14-14, 7-7 Big West) 83-76 on Saturday night at The Matadome to clinch a spot in the upcoming Big West Conference Tournament (Mar. 12-14). Aaron Parks set school records for free throws attempted and made in one game, going 19-for-23 at the line and finishing with a career-high 29 points to lead the Matadors to victory.
"It is important to finish the season playing well going into the conference tournament because you never know what's going to happen," said CSUN head coach Reggie Theus. "[UC Riverside] is a good basketball team. All we had to do was play tough, take care of the ball and do our normal things defensively to win the game."
The game also marked the final time the team's four seniors - Robert Cid, Devonte Elliott, Stephen Maxwell and Stephan Hicks - would play at The Matadome.
"Character is something that every man wants to have," said Theus. "These are four guys that are high-character people. It's been a real joy for me to coach them. I just wish that I had them all for four years instead of two."
Both sides became locked in a tight battle from the beginning with the teams trading the lead for the first six minutes of the game. With the scored tied at 7-7 the Matadors went scoreless for more than three minutes, but the Highlanders could not take advantage and were only able to build a four-point lead.
CSUN did not let UC Riverside's lead increase for the remainder of the half and eventually tied things up at 24-24 with fewer than five minutes to play. A three-point play by Maxwell gave CSUN a four-point lead with 1:24 remaining but the Highlanders responded with five quick points. A 3-pointer by Ajon Efferson followed by a dunk for UCR's Taylor Johns in the closing seconds sent the teams to the locker room tied at 36-36.
The Matadors began to establish control at the start of the second half, scoring six unanswered points and keeping the Highlanders off of the scoreboard for nearly five and a half minutes. Hicks drained a 3-pointer after Parks missed a jumper and got his own rebound, pushing the lead to eight with 14 minutes to go.
Not to be put away easily, the Highlanders continued to claw back into the game and tied the score after being down 68-60 and rattling off an 8-0 run. Free throws by Parks and Elliott built the advantage back to four points before Parks found Hicks for another critical three for the team's final field goal of the night with 1:43 on the clock.
Eight free-throws down the stretch sealed the win for CSUN and helped the team reach the conference tournament for the second year in a row. The Matadors will be the No. 8 seed and will face the regular-season champion on March 12th at Honda Center in Anaheim.
On a night to honor the senior members of the team, CSUN's underclassmen delivered. In addition to 29 points, Parks had six assists and four rebounds while Efferson went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc to finish with nine points off the bench.
"I just wanted to win for the seniors," said Parks. "On Senior Night, you want to win for them. I just did what I had to do for my teammates."
Parks' record-breaking night at the free-throw line was a performance not seen in The Matadome in 50 years. The old record of 16 free throws made was accomplished three times, by Jim Wagner (1961-62 season against Cal Poly Pomona), Ollie Carter (3/2/65 against Long Beach State) and Mark Cooley (12/2/66 against Cal State Fullerton). The previous mark for attempts in a game was 19, set by both Carter and Cooley in the aforementioned contests, and all three feats were accomplished at home.
Juniors Tre Hale-Edmerson and Landon Drew finished with three and four points, respectively. Drew also had five assists and four rebounds while Hale-Edmerson had two assists and two rebounds.
Hicks went 7-for-14 from the field, including 3-for-4 from downtown, to collect 20 points and eight rebounds while Maxwell finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, one block and one steal.
Elliott was halfway to a triple-double and tallied eight points, seven rebounds and five blocks. As a team, the Matadors shot 46 percent (24-of-52) from the floor and 77 percent (27-of-35) from the line.
The team will close out the regular season on Thursday, Mar. 5, when CSUN heads down the 405 to take on Long Beach State. Tipoff at Walter Pyramid is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game can also be seen live online through ESPN3/WatchESPN.
