Senior forward Jermar Welch scored a career-high 18 points and added eight
rebounds as Cal State Northridge pounded the Cal State Fullerton Titans
92-68 in front of 1,358 on Thursday in The Matadome. Northridge (7-10
overall, 6-2 Big West) is now all alone in second place in the Big West
after UC Irvine’s (7-1) win at UC Santa Barbara (5-3).
CS Fullerton (4-13 overall, 1-7 Big West) enjoyed its last lead of the
game at 14-13 with 9:12 left in the first half. The Titans trailed by
only two (29-27) with 54 seconds remaining in the opening peiod, but the
explosive Matadors scored six straight points in the final 48 seconds
of the half to take a 35-27 lead into the locker room.
The Matadors led 50-37 on a jumper by Welch with 13:51 left in the game
and looked as if they were in control. But the Titans made an 8-1 run
to cut the lead to just six points (51-45) with 11:13 remaining on a layup
by Denver Lopez.
But Northridge answered with a 12-4 run of its own to extend the lead
to 14 points on a three-pointer by Ed Estavan with 8:14 left to play.
Cal State Fullerton still trailed by 16 points (78-62) with 3:37 left
as the Matadors closed out the game on a 14-6 run to end the game with
a 24-point victory over the Titans. It was the largest margin of victory
for Northridge over Fullerton in 29 games (since a 94-63 win against the
Titans on Feb. 23, 1965).
The Matadors improved to 5-0 on the year when they outrebound their opponent,
posting a 46-31 advantage on the boards, including 21 offensive rebounds
(eight by Lionel Benjamin).
Northridge also shot the ball well for the third-straight game, shooting
49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the field, 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from three-point
range and 75.7 percent (28-of-37) from the free-throw line.
The Matadors also got after it defensively, picking up 12 steals while
forcing 24 Titan turnovers. Fullerton shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52) from
the floor but shot just 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from beyond the arc.
Pape Sow had a huge night for the visitors, finishing up with 28 points
(12-of-19 from the free-throw line) and six rebounds. Ryan Dillon came
off the bench to score 13 points (4-of-7 from three-point range) and added
four steals for Cal State Fullerton.
In addition to Welch’s career night, the Matadors received double-double
performances from Markus Carr and Benjamin. Carr recorded the 10th double-double
of his career with 15 points and a season-high 12 assists. Benjamin registered
his first double-double of his career with 10 points and a team-best 10
rebounds.
Slaughter added 13 points for Northridge, which improved his double figure
scoring streak to seven games. Freshman guard Ian Boylan chipped in 12
points in his first start since the Matadors’ loss at Brigham Young
(Dec. 27, 2001).
The Titans will play at Pacific on Saturday night.
