CSU Northridge Matadors vs California Golden Bears Match Player Stats On Dec 19, 2020

Makale Foreman scored 23 points and Ryan Betley added 19 as host California pulled away midway through the first half and demolished Cal State Northridge 87-56 at Berkeley on Saturday.

Joel Brown finished with 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Golden Bears (4-4), who shot a blistering 60.8 percent from the field, and 52.9 percent (9 of 17) on their 3-point attempts. Cal all but put the game away with an 11-3 run to start the second half.

The Matadors (3-3) shot only 34.7 percent (17 of 49) from the floor, and 41.2 percent (7 of 17) from 3-point range. TJ Starks scored 13 points for Northridge, while Atin Wright had 10. Lance Coleman II added eight points and five rebounds.

Cal led 43-25 at the half, and quickly built on that lead. Foreman hit a 3-pointer, and after Northridge's Alex Merkviladze answered with his own 3-pointer, the Golden Bears scored the next eight points, four of them from Brown. That burst pushed the lead to 54-28, and Northridge never trimmed the gap below 22 points.

A Betley 3-pointer pushed the lead to 30 points at 66-36 with 10:58 left, and Monty Bowser's free throw extended it to 40 points at 83-43 with 4:16 remaining.

Betley hit all four of his shots in the first half, including three from long range, to score 13 points before the break. Foreman led all scorers in the first half with 15. He went 5 of 10 from the floor and had the Golden Bears' other two 3-pointers before the break.

Merkviladze led the Matadors with seven points in the half, as Northridge shot only 38.5 percent.

The Matadors were within 18-14 after a 3-pointer by Merkviladze with 11:03 left in the half, but California reeled off nine straight points - seven by Foreman -- to take a 13-point lead.

A layup by Starks ended the run as Northridge trailed 27-16 with 8:27 left, but Betley nailed a 3-pointer and Lars Thiemann scored on a layup, and Northridge never got closer than 14 points again.

--Field Level Media