Northridge Toes the Line, 101-87

Cal State Northridge tied a school record with 10 three-point baskets in the first half and made 15 of 28 on Saturday night en route to a 101-87 Big Sky Conference men’s basketball victory over Idaho State.

The Matadors (11-15, 7-9 in the Big Sky) are seeded sixth in the Big Sky Conference tournament next week at Flagstaff, Ariz., and will play Eastern Washington in the first round at 6 p.m. Thursday.

“We definitely shot the ball well tonight,” Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell said. “Right now we’re just happy to win the basketball game tonight. We need to prepare for Eastern Washington. We need to make sure the players are rested and ready to go to battle.”

The Matadors led by as many as 14 points in the opening half before entering the locker room ahead, 54-45. Forward Brian Heinle had the hot hand, sinking three three-pointers and scoring 13 points.

Idaho State tried to get into a fast-paced game with the Matadors but guards Lucky Grundy, Trenton Cross, Carl Holmes and Greg Minor kept Northridge running and gunning. The four combined for 58 points and 19 assists.

An intentional foul and subsequent technical on Idaho State Coach Herb Williams resulted in four free throws by Holmes and an 82-64 lead with 6:39 left. Grundy’s two free throws with 1:14 left put Northridge over the century mark.

Holmes scored 18 points for Northridge, with Minor and Cross each adding 17.

Heinle finished with 15 points, and Mike O’Quinn had 13. Jeffrey Parris had 10 points and a eight rebounds.

The Matadors made 50% of their shots, sinking 34 of 68. They made 15 of 28 three-point shots.

The Matadors committed a season-low 11 turnovers to go with 24 assists. Grundy led the Matadors with 11 assists.

Idaho State forward Tywan Meadows finished with 23 points. He finished the season as the conference’s leading scorer with a 20.9 average.

It was Williams’ final game at Idaho State after eight seasons. The Bengals finished with a 2-14 conference record and were 6-20 overall, missing the conference tournament for the first time during Williams’ tenure.

“We knew that the last game was going to come,” Williams said. “It was more of a relief. It hasn’t been easy at times.”