IT'S UGLY, BUT CSUN WILL TAKE WIN SLUGGISH VICTORY ONLY MATADORS' 2ND ON ROAD CSUN 64, L.B. STATE 56.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

LONG BEACH - Cal State Northridge's televised game against Long Beach State had all the excitement of the Super Bowl's first quarter.

Only this game, won 64-56 by CSUN, never got much better. There weren't any innovative commercials to break the monotony, either.

All the lethargic crowd of 1,705 at the Pyramid was treated to were a combined 40 turnovers, badly missed shots, Kevin Roberts' stubborn contact lense that fell out twice and other such mishaps and yawners.

The Matadors shot just 41 percent - 17 percent from 3-point range - and had 20 turnovers. Long Beach State was 11 of 25 from the free-throw line and was outrebounded by 42-31. But for CSUN, it was a victory and that was all that mattered.

Ian Boylan had a game-high 20 points, leading CSUN to only its second road victory of the season.

``We're taking it one game at a time,'' Boylan said. ``We're already looking for to (UC) Irvine. If we win that, we've got five of our next seven games at home. We're ready to take on anything.''

The Matadors (8-10, 4-6 Big West) went on an 8-0 run - including three consecutive baskets from Eto Onyenegecha - at the end of the first half for a 35-27 halftime lead. The Matadors never trailed in the second half.

CSUN moved into a four-way tie for fourth place in the conference and will play UC Irvine on Saturday at the Bren Center. Irvine, also in fourth, lost 64-52 to Pacific on Thursday and CSUN always seems to play the Anteaters tough.

``I'm just proud of these guys,'' CSUN coach Bobby Braswell said. ``There was a lot at stake here. We realized that Long Beach was ahead of us in the standings - we challenged our guys on defense.''

The Matadors, who put themselves in position to make the Big West tournament, used to press from start to finish. This season, they have neither the depth nor personnel to run such a system. They've struggled in the halfcourt offense as well. But in the second half, Boylan and Onyenegecha (18 points) were driving the lane and knocking down shots or passing to open teammates.

CSUN is learning to play without former starters Chris Davis and Joseph Frazier, who were suspended for the season for breaking team rules on a road trip. Frazier returned to practice but Davis, who was at the game in street clothes, hasn't.

``I feel I let the team down,'' Davis said. ``I made a mistake and it affected more than just myself. It affected the team. I can't take it back but I apologize to the program, the fans - to everybody.

``I talked to the (players) individually and said, 'Don't let what happened with me and Joe affect you.' ''

Davis said he hasn't practiced because of slight chest pains. Davis had an irregular EKG last week and is scheduled to see a specialist in Inglewood today.

``I don't think it's anything serious,'' he said. ``It may be because of my allergies.''

Long Beach State's Anthony Coleman, a transfer from Xavier, played his first game of the season. Coleman was out with a stress fracture but had six points and four rebounds in 24 minutes. Roberts had a team-high 17 points.

Jill Painter, [phone]

jill.painter(at)dailynews.com