CSUN NOTEBOOK: MATADORS BURNED BY COMMENTS.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

Since moving to the Division I level eight years ago, Cal State Northridge's men's basketball team hasn't won an in-season tournament. Heck, the Matadors have struggled to win two games in a row in some seasons.

It's something coach Bobby Braswell stressed before the Matadors left for the PowerBar Invitational at the University of Hawaii.

And as if playing the hosts in Thursday's first round isn't enough, the Matadors were armed with more motivation earlier in the day.

According to CSUN officials, Braswell and the Matadors were irked about comments Hawaii coach Riley Wallace made to local media Wednesday about CSUN.

``On a given night, they're capable of beating a lot of people, though they often struggle among themselves and don't get it done,'' Wallace told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. ``Let's hope it's one of those nights for them.''

CSUN officials said Braswell gave the players a copy of the quote prior to Thursday's film session and planned to hang a copy of the remarks in each player's locker before the game.

However, Wallace also said CSUN (3-2) was ``very athletic'' and might be the best team ``from top to bottom'' in the field, which includes Georgia State and Coppin State.

But even before the Matadors boarded a plane for the South Pacific, Braswell was preaching the ``lack of respect'' thing.

``You don't play the tournament host in the first round if they expect you to win,'' Braswell said. ``I don't think our guys are going there just to hang out on the beach. I think they really want to become the first team at Northridge to win a tournament.''

This is the third tournament Hawaii (2-3) has hosted; the Rainbows won the openers by an average of 20 points and lost in the two championship games by an average of 24 points.

Regardless of Thursday's outcome against the Rainbows, CSUN will play the early game in today's tournament against either Georgia State or Coppin State.