CSUN Pulls Off Big Sky Victory to Remember

NORTHRIDGE — Should Cal State Northridge someday achieve every goal Bobby Braswell set the day he took over as men’s basketball coach three years ago, Saturday night will be reflected upon as the turning point.

His team played unselfishly, emotionally and confidently.

The home crowd numbered 1,358--the second largest in Braswell’s tenure--and created the racket of five times that many.

And the result, a 76-74 victory over Big Sky Conference heavyweight Northern Arizona, will serve as a milestone for his program.

The Matadors (14-8, 6-4 in conference play) pulled within two games of the first-place Lumberjacks (16-5, 8-2) and lifted Braswell’s career record to 40-39, the first time it has inched over .500.

“The team played hard and played together,” Braswell said. “And the crowd carried us when we needed an emotional lift. This town and this university needs this. It was a very big win.”

And difficult to come by. Northridge did not take a lead until 6:55 remained, and the basket that gave the Matadors a 64-63 advantage was a no-look fling over the shoulder by Jason Crowe that had no business coming close.

“I thought, ‘God must be on our side tonight,’ ” Crowe said.

No doubt Brian Heinle was in the Matadors’ corner. The 6-foot-9 sophomore scored 23 points and made the key play in the waning seconds.

With Northridge trailing, 74-73, Heinle tipped in a missed shot with 5.7 seconds to play, then dashed downcourt and intercepted a long inbounds pass from Billy Hix at the Lumberjack free-throw line.

Heinle was fouled, made the first shot, missed the second and Northern Arizona’s Michael McNair grabbed the rebound but dribbled the ball off his knee as the buzzer sounded.

The Northridge players left the court only for a few seconds, returning to celebrate with the fans who have been starved for this sort of excitement.

“The fans were awesome,” Heinle said. “They were loud and definitely gave us a big push.”

Several other Matadors stepped up during Northridge’s surge in the final seven minutes.

Jeff Parris had scored only on two free throws when he made a dunk off of one of Crowe’s eight assists with 5:55 to play. Parris made two more baskets, and his free throw after being intentionally fouled by Hix put Northridge ahead, 73-72, with 1:43 to play.

Derrick Higgins made five of eight shots for 15 points and had seven rebounds. Higgins’ dunk tied the score, 70-70.

Greg Minor, gaining confidence at point guard, scored only two points but turned the ball over only twice in 20 minutes.

“He didn’t do much on the stat sheet, but Greg played with great composure down the stretch,” Braswell said.

Northern Arizona, two-time defending Big Sky champion, showed less poise, making only six of 14 free throws in the second half.

Northridge was jittery early, falling behind, 9-0. But the Matadors played even the rest of the first half behind Heinle, who scored 18 points.

Although the Lumberjacks committed eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes, they led, 21-10, because Northridge hurried its shots.

Heinle scored 10 of Northridge’s next 12 points and had an assist on the only other basket, a layup by Markus Carr. However, the Lumberjacks missed only one shot in the last four minutes and led, 42-33, at halftime.

Heinle picked up three fouls in the first 4:40 of the second half to give him four and didn’t return until the final moments.

Matador Notes

Molly Johnson, wife of Mike Johnson, the Northridge associate head coach, gave birth to the couple’s first child Tuesday night. Michael Daniel weighed in at 6 pounds 12 ounces. “This is the best week of my life,” Mike Johnson said after Northridge’s victory. . . . A streak of four consecutive victories over Northridge by Northern Arizona was snapped. Two of the losses were in overtime, including an 86-69 decision in Flagstaff that opened Big Sky Conference play.