The Matador Score

The Matadors were able to tie it, but in the end foul-trouble and Anthony Goods were too much for them. After tying it at 70, the Cardinal went on a free-throw parade and while CSUN matched many of the shots, ultimately they fell short.

Jenkins led them with 24 but he also had 10 turnovers. Tresvant had a bad game and Townsend couldn’t even get in the game.

Jenkins feels they did a lot of improvement from their last game to this one. I share the sentiment. The Matadors got some ways to go but tonight’s game might do more for them as a loss in the long run than it could have as a win.

The final score was overblown. It doesn’t show how close the game was, but a loss is a loss. Wake-up call for the No. 1-in-paper Matadors.

The refs are kind of screwing CSUN with their constant off-the-ball fouls. I don’t know how many points in a row it’s been that the Cardinal has scored from the line but it hasn’t been two, that’s for sure.

Jenkins picked up foul No. 4 and is on the bench. Tresvant is trying to carry the scoring load but he isn’t being successful enough. CSUN is down 81-72 with 8:20 to play.

Jenkins is back in.

Josh Jenkins has taken over this game. He’s just going where he pleases and has 24 points but the Matadors still trail 67-64 with 12 minutes to go in the game. Deon Tresvant is having the worst game of his life (he just hit a three….shut up me)…Tie game.

The Matadors have been down by as many as 18. Can they complete the comeback?

CSUN is in the penalty. It’s nothing but free throws for Stanford the rest of the way.

Well I oughta just stop writing because every time I type something, the opposite happens - which I guess is good for CSUN. Following a bad stretch in which they trailed by as many as 18 points, the Matadors put together a run to cut it to just seven. Jenkins was the one who engineered the mini-comeback. Unfortunately for CSUN, Jenkins committed a silly foul - his third - and will have to be careful to not be disqualified.

The Matadors trail 52-42 at the half.

If CSUN wanted to make this game a statement on behalf of the Big West , representatives from the conference are going to fly to Stanford immediately and tell them thanks but no thanks.

The Cardinal lead 43-25. One more bucket and this gets in the 20’s. The Matadors aren’t playing with any kind of rhytm. They’re committing silly turnovers and Stanford’s taking advantage of every single one of them.

The Cardinal isn’t overly impressive (that’s easy to say from just watching of course), what is astonishing is the way in which CSUN’s lost its calmness.

Anthony Goods has 13 points for Stanford. The Matadors are led by Jenkins with 11.

Stanford is now the one in control.

The Cardinal went on a 22-7 run to make a 16-12 deficit into a 34-23 lead with 7:30 left in the first half.

The Matadors just keeping committing offensive foul after offensive foul.

To make matters worse for CSUN, Tremaine Townsend just picked up his third foul.

The score doesn’t show it - 20 -18 Stanford - but after a shaky start, the Matadors are controlling the pace of the game. Josh Jenkins looks like a man on a mission (just as i typed this he had a silly turnover) and overall the Cardinal doesn’t look too impressive.

The Matadors look confident. They took an early 16-12 lead. They have drawn three offensive fouls on Stanford.

The game’s set to tip off and the Matadors (1-0) are starting with: Rob Haynes, Deon Tresvant, Willie Galick, Tremaine Townsend and Josh Jenkins.

Stanford has Mitch Johnson, Landry Fields, Anthony Goods, Lawrence Hill and Josh Owens in its starting lineup.

CSUN with its black uniform and Stanford with their whites. The home team wins the tip-off and they draw a quick foul on Tresvant for some free throws.

Goods makes both free throws. 2-0 Cardinal.

These student section really loves its Cardinal here.

Here we are. The preseason Big West Conference No. 1. Everyone’s favorite. The men’s basketball team is in Stanford tonight for what will be their first true test of the young season. CSUN won its two exhibition games in blowouts and also came on top Friday in their first regular-season match-up. They sweated it more than they should have, though. They were playing a Division III team. Head Coach Bobby Braswell was mad. I can only imagine what he told them in the locker room following their 73-62 win against Cal Lutheran.

The Matadors will count with their starting center, Tremaine Townsend, tonight. He tweaked his ankle Thursday and didn’t play Friday but should be back to help the cause. Stanford is 1-0 and isn’t expected to be a power in the Pac-10 so if CSUN wants to be taken seriously, this game can do lots for that purpose.

Like point guard Josh Jenkins said: “It’s a big game not only for Northridge, but also for the Big West.”

We’ll see what the Big West’s No. 1 can do against a Pac-10 bottom feeder.

I’ll be blogging during the game, so check back here for the incidences later. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.

Sean Franklin did it. The former Matador - now playing for the hometown L.A. Galaxy - was named Rookie of the Year today.

Franklin, a defender, was taken fourth overall by the Galaxy in the 2008 Draft and through aggressive defense in just his first year in the top soccer league in the U.S. he’s received a first-ever for the club.

Franklin was a starter for 26 of the 27 games he played in. He logged 2,385 minutes for the season.

I had the opportunity to talk to him in September and he was very down-to-earth. It’s like it hadn’t hit him that he was becoming a star (Wonder if it’ll hit him now?). Then I saw him at the Northridge mall once. He was courteous. Last time I spotted him was at the men’s soccer season-ending game against UC Irvine. As you can see, he’s still got Northridge in his heart.

Northridge pride, people.