CSUN HALF BAD AGAINST PORTLAND STATE MATADORS GET OFF TO QUICK START, THEN FALL APART PORTLAND ST. 69, CSUN 65.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

PORTLAND, Ore. - Sure was hard to believe the young Cal State Northridge basketball team was so good this early.

CSUN scored the first 16 points of its season opener at Portland State, built as much as a 21-point lead and seemed poised for a rout. Then the Matadors forgot a basic basketball rule on Friday: Games are 40 minutes.

The Vikings, embarrassed in the first half, pulled off a stunning 69-65 comeback victory in front of 927 at the Stott Center.

Portland State outscored the CSUN 46-24 in the second half.

With 52 seconds left, Troy DeVries converted an open fast-break layup off his own steal to give the Vikings a 67-65 lead - its second lead of the game.

CSUN sophomore Ian Boylan missed two shots on the other end and Portland State's Kevin Briggs made two free throws to seal - or perhaps steal - the improbable win.

``In the first half, that's how we play every day in practice,'' CSUN sophomore Ian Boylan said. ``We talked at halftime about how no lead is safe. I thought we'd be mature enough and good enough to handle it.''

Not this time.

Portland State was flustered, bewildered and just plain bad in the first 20 minutes. CSUN was remarkably solid as it shot 63 percent and led 41-23 at halftime.

Seems the teams switched roles in the second half. The Vikings went on a 14-0 run to pull within 45-41 with 15 minutes left. CSUN had six turnovers in that span.

It didn't help CSUN that Portland State consistently made shots from behind the arc. The Vikings made nine 3-pointers, including 6 of 9 in the second half.

``I never think we're good until the game is over and you saw why tonight,'' CSUN coach Bobby Braswell said. ``That's a first for me. The first half we played together, we played unselfish and we played good defense.

``In the second half, we played very selfish offensively. On defense, we weren't in our stances and we didn't get after it. We played immaturely and that's disappointing.''

It was more than enough drama for Portland State coach Heath Schroyer, who sported a sweat-soaked T-shirt after the game. Schroyer made his coaching debut with the Vikings and - at least at the start - it looked as if it would be a complete disaster.

But after an impassioned halftime speech, Portland State, with the support of a lively crowd, rallied for the victory.

``In the first five minutes, we came out and we haven't seen that kind of pressure and athleticism,'' Schroyer said. ``We can't simulate that. We were taken back.''

But CSUN strayed from everything it did well in the first half. It rushed shots, it didn't run its full-court press effectively, it didn't rebound and it couldn't hang on to the ball. And much to Braswell's consternation, the Matadors had 16 turnovers in the second half and 25 in the game.

Boylan, the Big West Conference's freshman of the year last season, had a game-high 20 points and freshman Ben Sullivan added nine points in his college debut.

Sullivan, who's from nearby Lake Oswego, made his first two shots. The 6-foot-10 center nailed two consecutive outside shots from the left wing and another in the second half.

``The way things started, it was exciting,'' Sullivan said. ``But every team in Division I is good. We got a big lead and we needed to keep it. You can't take anything for granted.''

The Matadors used their pressure defense and hot shooting to hold the Vikings, a Big Sky Conference team, scoreless for the game's first 6 minutes, 35 seconds.

Portland State finally got on the scoreboard when junior college transfer Seth Scott had an open dunk.

Scott, a forward, finished with 16 points and guard Jeb Ivey had 18 points, including four 3-pointers.

``We'll lose again,'' Braswell said. ``But hopefully not in this fashion.''