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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Cal State Northridge coach Bobby Braswell and
his players came into Pauley Pavilion as the only ones who believed
they could beat UCLA (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP). The Bruins walked out stunned and
convinced.
|  | | UCLA's Ray Young (34) looks for an opening while guarded by Cal State-Northridge's Carl Holmes. |
Jeff Parris scored a career-high 27 points and Northridge
confused the Bruins with a variety of defenses to pull off a 78-74
upset Tuesday night.
"This is a big win. We kicked off a Pac-10 team," Parris said.
"We want to open some eyes."
UCLA (1-2) self-destructed with poor shooting down the stretch,
while the Matadors (2-0) calmly put together a run when their
double-digit lead shrank to two with 3:28 remaining.
"We knew we were going to win this the whole time," said
center Brian Heinle, who had 13 points and six of Northridge's 19
turnovers. "When you say LA, you think of UCLA. This will put us
more on a national level."
John Burrell added 17 points for the Matadors, who are just 3-22
against Pac-10 teams. They upset Oregon on the road
last season, while their only other win came when California
forfeited its victory during the 1995-96 season.
The Matadors, who won 20 games last season and are favored to
win the Big Sky Conference, had lost three previous games against
UCLA by an average of 20.6 points.
"We played UCLA two years ago. This time we had no fear, no
intimidation," said Parris, one of three seniors in Northridge's
veteran starting lineup. "We looked at UCLA as another Pac-10
team. The coach reminded us that UCLA is a very young team."
The Matadors used a 19-9 run over the end of the first half and
start of the second to erase most of a 13-point deficit and trail
by three. They took their first lead since the opening minutes by
outscoring UCLA 21-5, including 13 unanswered points, for a 59-48
lead with 7:35 remaining.
The Bruins got within two with a 12-3 run, including two
3-pointers by Ray Young and a goaltending call against Northridge.
But Parris steadied the Matadors with a wide-open basket, then
Markus Carr hit a 3-pointer to stretch their lead to 67-60 with
2:27 left. UCLA never got that close the rest of the game.
"It's back to the drawing board for us," said Steve Lavin, who
lost a home opener for the second time in his five seasons as UCLA
coach.
Jason Kapono, who averaged 21.5 points as the Bruins lost to
Kansas and beat Kentucky in overtime in their first two games, was
held to six points in 40 minutes despite getting some wide-open
looks.
"They were switching their defenses and that got us off our
scheme," he said. "You can't shoot well every game. It was a
night where everyone didn't play well."
Earl Watson and Young scored 15 points each for the Bruins, who
were 12-of-31 shooting in the second half and committed 24
turnovers in the game. Matt Barnes and Watson had seven turnovers
apiece.
"It's frustrating when you have to learn this way, but I've
been through this before," said Watson, a senior who's endured
some major upsets. "I have to pull them up before it gets worse."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
UCLA Clubhouse
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