Northridge Not Up to Task

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cal State Northridge took to the road with nobody suspended or disciplined for a change. Now the Matadors must remember to pack some intensity.

Lethargic and fumble-fingered, Northridge slipped into a double-digit deficit midway through the first half against Ohio State on Monday night and never seriously threatened, falling, 89-81, in front of 8,323 at St. John Arena.

“I don’t think we were ready to play,” Coach Bobby Braswell said. “We didn’t take care of the basketball and we did not play smart at all.”

With top defender Derrick Higgins sidelined with a stress fracture in his right foot, Northridge was unable to contain freshman Michael Redd, who scored 28 points, the fifth game in a row he has scored at least 20 for Ohio State (5-2).

Northridge (2-4) trailed by 16 at halftime, and the slow start baffled Braswell. Despite the absence of Higgins, he said his team should have been ready.

Forward Jabari Simmons, who did not start the last two games because he was tardy, was present and accounted for. Michael O’Quinn, left behind by Braswell during a trip to Oregon State as a disciplinary measure, was coming off a career-best performance.

Yet O’Quinn did not score in the first half and finished with 10 points. Guard Greg Minor, who like O’Quinn averages more than 20 points, scored three in the half and 12 in the game. Simmons also had 12.

Freshman guard Carl Holmes gave the Matadors an unexpected boost, scoring 21 points and making five of seven three-pointers. Holmes, Braswell’s nephew, went in averaging 3.3 points and did not practice last week after having two impacted wisdom teeth pulled.

The second half went better for the Matadors, but they pulled closer than nine only once--when Holmes made a three-pointer with 36.6 seconds to play to make the score 87-81.