CSUN'S ROAD IS SLO GOING INSPIRED CAL POLY DROPS MATADORS CAL POLY 77, CSUN 65.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

SAN LUIS OBISPO - Even the fans could feel it.

They were so sure Cal Poly San Luis Obispo had secured a victory over Cal State Northridge that they chanted ``Overrated!'' with 10 minutes left in the game.

What with Poly's inconsistent nature and CSUN's road success in the Big West Conference, it seemed like a brash move. But this time, everyone seemed to know it.

Cal Poly emerged from halftime with renewed gusto and cruised to a 77-65 victory on Thursday at Mott Gymnasium.

The Mustangs went on a 10-0 run - which included three consecutive CSUN turnovers - early in the second half to send the crowd of 2,734 into a frenzy. Cal Poly built a 40-33 lead after that, bolstered by a pair of 3- pointers, and never trailed again.

``That was the basketball game right there,'' CSUN coach Bobby Braswell said. ``You can't do that on the road and expect to win.''

Not in Stockton, where CSUN lost to Pacific last week. Not in San Luis Obispo and certainly not in Santa Barbara, where CSUN plays Saturday. UC Santa Barbara warmed up for the Matadors by beating Pacific 70-57 on Thursday.

CSUN (8-12, 7-4) lost its second consecutive game and is 0-2 on the road in the second half of conference play after going 3-1 away from home in the first half. They remain in third place, 2 1/2 games behind leader UC Irvine, which beat Idaho 52-38.

The Mustangs (13-7, 7-5) are solid but inconsistent. They beat UC Irvine one week and lost to Utah State by 32 points the next. But there was nothing inconsistent about their play Thursday.

Cal Poly had just 14 turnovers - a victory against the usually stifling CSUN fullcourt press - and coaxed CSUN into an uncharacteristic 19 turnovers.

``They pretty much outhustled us,'' said Lionel Benjamin, who had a team-high 11 points and 11 rebounds. ``That's what killed us - not playing hard like we're supposed to. Like we normally do.''

CSUN led 26-24 in the first half but made just 32 percent of its shots. It didn't get much better in the second half.

The Mustangs shot 48 percent from the field in the second half after a 9-for-31 performance in the first 20 minutes. Cal Poly guard Steve Geary had a game-high 19 points and made 5 of 7 3-pointers. Center Varnie Dennis added 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

CSUN is 1-11 when its opponent scores 70 points or more.

``We just stepped it up (in the second half),'' Geary said. ``The crowd got behind us as usual. We felt the crowd and their energy.''

CSUN senior guard Markus Carr struggled from the field, finishing with nine points on 4-for-13 shooting. Curtis Slaughter, who scored in double figures for nine consecutive games, had just nine points.

``The last two losses, we wanted to prove we can win games on the road,'' Slaughter said. ``We've been unsuccessful. We've gotta make sure we play harder than we did (Thursday).''

CAPTION(S):

box

Box: STANDINGS