A Capital Gain Puts Matadors in Money

Cal State Northridge is speeding toward the Big Sky Conference tournament.

And Trenton Cross is driving.

Cross took the ball the length of the court for a layup with 4.7 seconds left in regulation Saturday night against Sacramento State, sending the game into overtime, where the Matadors won, 93-90.

Cross, who missed two free throws with 23 seconds left in regulation that allowed the Hornets to tie the score, scored 25 points, giving him 20 or more in four of five games.

“The only thing I was thinking was just to get it back after I missed those free throws,” Cross said. “We had worked too hard to lose this game. I felt I had let my teammates down and I had to get it back.”

The Matadors have won four games in a row against Division I opponents for the first time in school history, and all of them on the road. Northridge (12-12, 8-6 in conference play) has its most victories in seven Division I seasons.

The game went to overtime only after a thrilling final minute that had the 1,412 Memorial Auditorium fans on the edge of their seats.

The Matadors had a 79-77 lead when point guard Lucky Grundy lost the ball near midcourt as the shot clock ticked down. He recovered just in time to sling up a 35-foot shot, which was rebounded by Sacramento’s David Drakeford. Drakeford drove the length of the court and for a layup to tie the game, 79-79, with 52.4 seconds to play.

Northridge drew a foul with 23 seconds to play, but Cross, a 73% free-throw shooter, missed both attempts.

Northridge’s Keith Higgins was called for a foul with 10.3 seconds to go. Louie Baity hit two free throws to give the Hornets an 81-79 lead.

But Cross took the inbounds pass and weaved his way downcourt and flipped in a layup that bounced around the rim before falling through and tying the game.

The Hornets missed a desperation shot, sending the Matadors into their first overtime of the season.

The Matadors jumped to a five-point lead. Although Kevin Taylor missed two free throws with 6.4 seconds to play to give the Hornets a chance to tie, Eric Carey shot a 30-foot airball at the buzzer.

Gerald Rhoden scored six of his 13 points in overtime. Derrick Higgins added 18 and Tom Samson had 12. Keith Higgins had 10 of the Matadors’ 49 rebounds.

The momentum for most of the game was with the team that shot better from three-point range. In the first half, the Hornets (3-21, 2-12) made seven of their first 11 from beyond the arc and led by as many as eight.

The Matadors trimmed the lead to 46-45 at halftime and took a lead early in the second half when they made three of their first four three-point shots, going up, 58-49, with 15:42 to play.