EFEVBERHA, CSUN SILENCED BY UCI UC IRVINE 76, CSUN 62.

Byline: Ramona Shelburne Staff Writer

IRVINE - They came prepared with homemade signs and witty chants, ready to jeer Cal State Northridge junior guard Mike Efevberha in the same arena that he had once heard so many cheers.

Efevberha left UC Irvine two years ago, following an on-campus incident in which he stole a backpack from a female student. He pleaded guilty to petty theft, paid a $425 fine, performed community service, then transferred to Cal State Northridge, where he's blossomed into the leading scorer in the Big West Conference this winter. Friday night's game was his first trip back to his former school.

At first the jeers directed at Efevberha were overpowering. They booed every time he touched the ball. Efevberha tried to ignore them. Once he started scoring in bunches, he figured, they'd have to respect him.

As it turned out, however, the stifling double- and triple-teams the Anteaters threw at Efevberha did more to quiet the crowd than anything he did. Efevberha was held 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting as the Matadors lost 76-62 to UC Irvine in front of 2,038 at the Bren Events Center.

``I didn't expect them to play as hard of defense on me. They were throwing all kinds of things at me,'' Efevberha said. ``I wanted this game really bad. I would've loved to come down here and win on their home court, just as I would any time on the road. But that's the way it goes.''

As for whether the crowd affected him, Efevberha said he only noticed one sign. In one corner of the Bren Events Center, an enterprising group of students piled a bunch of backpacks under the sign ``Free Backpacks, Not a Trap.''

``I saw that sign over by the band, but I was able to tune everything else out,'' he said.

After the game, Northridge coach Bobby Braswell said he was impressed with the way Efevberha handled the situation, but not with his play.

``Mike's got to make better decisions, I think he forced some shots tonight,'' Braswell said. ``It's hard to blame him in a situation like this, he really wanted to do well. ... When he gets double- and triple-teamed, he's got to learn how to get his teammates involved more.''

It was only the second time in five years Northridge has lost to the Anteaters (7-8, 3-0) in Irvine. The Matadors fell behind 24-7 in the first half, but went on a 14-0 run over the final 7:09 of the half and trailed by only three, 24-21, at halftime.

Northridge (6-7, 1-2) led 47-44 with 11:04 remaining in the game, but Irvine hit three 3-pointers and made its final 16 of 18 free-throw attempts to rally for the victory. The Matadors made just 6 of their 12 free-throw attempts in the second half.

``I wasn't into the kind of reception Mike was going to get, that wasn't my problem,'' Irvine coach Pat Douglass said. ``I was more concerned with the things they do well. They pass well, they defend well. They're a little quicker than us. ... There were a lot more pressing areas than the reception Mike was going to get.''

--Also: Northridge senior point guard Bakari Altheimer left Friday's game midway through the first half with a concussion and did not return. His status for Sunday's game at Long Beach State is uncertain. Afterward, Altheimer said he was feeling OK.

Ramona Shelburne, [phone]

ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com