Toros Drop Men's Preseason Hoops Game at Cal State Northridge
November 11, 2005

Courtesy Cal State Northridge Sports Information Office

Complete Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -- Led by Mike Efevberha's 30 points in 28 minutes of action, the Cal State Northridge Matadors roared past visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills for a 96-73 exhibition victory over the Toros in The Matadome on Friday night.

Efevberha was 10-of-16 from the floor and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line while adding two assists, two rebounds and four steals.

Mario Malave paced the Toros with a double-double of 26 points and a game-high 13 rebounds (eight offensive). Malave was 10-of-15 from the field and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.

The visitors led by five points (16-11) with 10:20 left in the first half after a layup by Malave. But CSUN engineered a 20-6 run over the next six minutes to lead 31-22 on a layup by Efevberha with 4:22 to go in the opening half. The Matadors claimed a 12-point lead (39-27) at the break.

Leading by 10 (53-43) with 15:59 left in the contest, the Matadors put the game out of reach with a 15-2 run to lead 68-45 on a dunk by Jonathan Heard with 12:23 remaining. CSUN held its largest lead of 27 points (92-65) with 3:05 left before emptying the bench.

The Matadors shot 54.5 percent (36-of-66) from the field for the game and a stellar 64.5 percent (20-of-31) in the second half. The Toros shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the floor. CSUN was nearly perfect from the free-throw line, sinking 90.0 percent (18-of-20) of its attempts.

Northridge registered 15 steals while forcing 29 turnovers by CSUDH, including 20 in the first half. The Matadors, who were outrebounded 17-15 in the opening stanza, turned it around in the second half to win the battle of the boards 35-32. CSUN also tallied 30 assists, including a game-high nine by freshman point guard Jason Hill.

Heard added 14 points, five assists and four boards for CSUN while freshman walk-on Austen Powers contributed 10 points, three rebounds and three steals.

While Malave was the only Toro to reach double figures in scoring, Kevin Crockett and Carlos Rivers each scored nine for CSUDH. Rivers added a team-high five assists and a game-high five steals.

The Toros begin the regular season Nov. 22 when they host Vanguard.