Looking to recover from three-straight losses, the Matadors (1-6) take on Pepperdine (5-3) at Firestone Fieldhouse Saturday night. It will be CSUN’s second straight opponent from the West Coast Conference.
The Matadors are coming off a loss against Santa Clara as their shooting woes continue. The team currently shoots 34 percent from the field and has difficulty shooting from behind the arc (22.6 percent).
CSUN has looked to redshirt freshman guard Stephan Hicks for offense, as well as forward Stephen Maxwell. Maxwell had an impressive debut (20 points, 11 rebounds) when Cal State Bakersfield visited the Matadome last week, but the freshman had a less-than-stellar game on Saturday against the Broncos.
Hit with two early fouls that left him sidelined for most of the first half, Maxwell saw only 11 minutes of playing time and didn’t attempt a single shot. The forward managed to get to the line, but split his free throws and ended the game with only one point.
Matador head coach Bobby Braswell has had the same amount of trouble with his team on the defensive end. Allowing its opponents to average 77.3 points per game on a shooting percentage of 44.4 percent. CSUN looks to lock down on defense to get out of this slump.
With this game at Pepperdine, CSUN has the opportunity to get its first win on the road this season. The Matadors, who are 0-5 on the road, started their season with losses at USC, Hawai’i, Boise State, Drake and Santa Clara.
Northridge’s lone win this season came at home against San Diego Christian.
Pepperdine starts its two-game home stand, coming off a win against Northern Arizona Wednesday night at Rolle Activity Center. Corbin Moore had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the 49-40 victory over the Lumberjacks.
The Waves hold an overall record at 6-8, but CSUN has won the last three meetings, with the last one ending in a 99-64 win on Dec. 18, 2008.
With Pepperdine having its struggles on offense by shooting 37.5 percent from the field, the Matadors might not have much to worry about against the Waves, but they cannot just rely on past results to get a much-needed win.
