Jinx Holds True as Northridge Wins : College basketball: For the second consecutive time, Long Beach State is upset by the Matadors, who score their first victory of the season, 64-58.

They higher they are, the harder they fall. That should be Cal State Northridge’s credo every time Cal State Long Beach visits for a basketball game.

Two years ago, a three-point basket with four seconds left in overtime gave Northridge an upset over Long Beach a couple of games after the 49ers had knocked off top-ranked Kansas.

As Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg said Tuesday night, “ deja vu .”

This time the three-point shot came with more than three minutes left in regulation. The result was the same.

Previously winless Northridge defeated previously unbeaten Long Beach, 64-58, in a nonconference game before 759 fans in the Northridge Gym.

The spread was six points, but Robert Hill’s three-point basket--an off-balance shot from 30 feet as the shot clock expired--was unquestionably the difference.

“It was a good-luck shot,” Hill admitted.

Hill’s basket pulled Northridge (1-3) to within a point, 54-53, and swung momentum the Matadors’ way with 3:19 to play.

“If any one shot had a major role, it would have to be that one,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said. “(The 49ers) were playing great defense. That had to be discouraging for them, and it was certainly a big lift for us.”

Hill, a junior, scored a game-high 16 points, including four in the final 1:12. His leaning, 10-foot baseline jumper gave Northridge a temporary lead, 58-56, and his two free throws with 45 seconds remaining gave the Matadors a 60-58 edge, an advantage they held.

A slam dunk by Mike Dorsey and two free throws by Ryan Martin in the final 16 seconds gaveNorthridge its margin of victory.

Dorsey finished with 12 points and Martin 10.

Mike Atkinson led Long Beach (2-1) with 13 points and eight rebounds. Terrance O’Kelley and Jamie Davis each scored 10.

After shooting only 35% in each of its first three games, Northridge shot 49%, 55% in the second half.

“When I’m 0 and forever, it’s very big,” Cassidy said of the victory. “It’s a springboard, something that says, ‘We can.’ ”

The Matadors led at the half, 30-26, despite 15 turnovers. Long Beach quickly erased that deficit by making its first five shots of the second half--including a pair of three-point shots by O’Kelley.