Smith, Dawson lead CS Northridge over UC Santa Barbara
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LOS ANGELES (AP) Kendall Smith had 17 points and six assists and Tavrion Dawson had 15 points and 13 rebounds to help Cal State Northridge beat UC Santa Barbara 77-55 on Saturday night.
Darin Johnson had 16 points and Aaron Parks added 12 for the Matadors (11-13, 7-4 Big West), who led the rest of the way from Smith's jumper at 14-13 with 11:28 left in the first half.
The Gauchos (3-20, 1-10) cut a nine-point, first-half deficit down to one on the opening basket of the second half and stayed close for the first eight minutes of the period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But CS Northridge pushed the lead to double digits with 6 1/2 minutes to go and had a 19-5 run to lead 77-53 in the final minute.
Eric Childress had 16 points, Max Heidegger scored 14 and Alex Hart had eight points and 11 rebounds for UC Santa Barbara.