Northridge Prevails, 94-86

This wasn’t the bold statement the Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team wanted to make.

But the Matadors were satisfied with the result, a 94-86 nonconference victory Sunday night over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo before 1,013 fans at the Matadome.

The Matadors built a 27-point lead by early in the second half before holding off a furious comeback by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (5-7) in the final 15 minutes.

“We just weren’t as good defensively as we needed to be at the end of the game, but we were happy with the win,” Coach Bobby Braswell said.

It was the sixth win in seven games for the Matadors (8-3). The victory might have slipped away if not for a brilliant second-half performance by forward Andre Larry, who scored 23 of his career-high 28 points after Northridge built a 47-29 halftime lead.

The Matadors, who avenged a 97-88 overtime loss to the Mustangs in December, put together one of their best efforts in the first half behind guard Jeff Parris. He scored 19 of his career-high 24 points in the half. Marcus Carr had a career-high 13 assists for Northridge.