BRASWELL HAS TEAM ON RUN.

Byline: Chris Branam Daily News Staff Writer

There was no mincing of words when Cal State Northridge men's basketball coach Bobby Braswell was asked to describe the Matadors' 114-111 exhibition win against the California All-Stars on Monday.

``We were awful,'' Braswell said. ``We didn't do a very good job of executing at the offensive end, and you could tell by the scoreboard that we didn't play very much defense.''

Maybe that's why Braswell had his players running up and down the court after practice on Wednesday. CSUN plays one more exhibition, Monday against the Sun Blue Angels at the Matadome, before opening the season at Arizona State on Nov. 22.

``We're going to try to use this one to prepare for Arizona State more than the last one,'' Braswell said.

Braswell said that Kevin Taylor, a starting forward and the Matadors' leading scorer last year, is expected to play Monday. Taylor reinjured an ankle Oct. 17.

While Taylor will return to the court, Trenton Cross and Jeffrey Parris will stay on the bench. Both players are serving suspensions for leaving a recruit at a party.

Forward Mike O'Quinn, a senior transfer from Loyola Marymount, was on academic suspension until Oct. 16. He was cleared to play Monday but stayed on the bench.

With projected starters Taylor, Cross and O'Quinn all out for various reasons, the Matadors won't have their set starting five on the court at the same time until the opener against the Sun Devils. Braswell isn't concerned.

``We practice at game speed every day,'' he said. ``This week we've put in a lot of things we're going to use (for the season).''

Recruit watch: The early national signing day is Wednesday, and the Matadors are expected to land Inglewood guard Bradley Jackson and Dan Read, a 6-foot-10 center from North Eugene (Ore.) High. Jackson is rated the No. 8 prep point guard in the nation by Athlon magazine.