Matadors Know Anything Possible in Just Seconds

It’s been the Matador mantra throughout an impossibly inconsistent season. . .

We were seconds from making the NCAA tournament last year, mere seconds away!

The inference is that despite enduring highs and lows that would make a bungee jumper queasy, anything is possible.

Capping its first season in the Big Sky Conference, Cal State Northridge upset Montana State and Northern Arizona before losing in the final minute to Montana, 82-79, in the 1997 conference tournament final.

Energized by knowing his team was only a small step from great glory, Coach Bobby Braswell brought in nine new players, gaining national recognition for a stellar recruiting class.

The new and supposedly improved Matadors took the court. . . . and promptly stumbled to a 4-6 nonconference record and 7-9 Big Sky mark, one game worse than last season. Northridge (11-15, 7-9) opened with two losses and never did reach .500.

Injuries, suspensions, players quitting, Braswell has been plagued by adversity of every stripe, and his team begins today’s six-team Big Sky tournament at Northern Arizona in the same position it did a year ago: seeded last.

To maintain a sliver of hope, the Matadors again recite the mantra. . . . Seconds away!

“I see a lot of similarities between this year’s team and last year’s,” Braswell said. “We are not as deep and we are younger, but look around the country, there are upsets in conference tournaments everywhere.

“Everything up to this point means absolutely nothing. Anybody can be standing at the end of this tournament.”

Northridge will open against third-seeded Eastern Washington (16-10, 10-6), a team that mirrors the Matadors’ uptempo style behind point guard Deon Williams and sharp-shooting forward Karim Scott, both All-Big Sky players.

Also tonight, fifth-seeded Montana State (17-10, 9-7) will play fourth-seeded Montana (16-13, 9-7). Conference champion Northern Arizona (19-7, 13-3) and second-seeded Weber State (14-12, 12-4) have first-round byes. The semifinals are Friday and the final is Saturday.

Eastern Washington, coached by former Pepperdine assistant Steve Aggers, defeated Northridge, 85-77, in Cheney, Wash., and, 87-80, at Northridge. Neither game was close down the stretch.

Summoning the requisite optimism, Braswell points out that it is difficult for a team to beat the same opponent three times in one season.

“We have to defend well and handle the ball,” he said. “They can apply pressure and they have good shooters. We have our work cut out for us, but I believe we are ready for this challenge.”

Point guard Lucky Grundy, who leads the Matadors with a 4.5 assist average and is making 83% of his free throws, is questionable because he sprained his left ankle Monday at practice. That will make it even more difficult to contain Williams, who averages 12.2 points and leads the Big Sky with a 6.0 assist average.

Although Braswell downplays the loss of center Jabari Simmons, who left the team three games ago because of personal problems, the Matadors’ lack of depth in the post is of concern.

Simmons averaged 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in 25 minutes a game, and his absence leaves only senior Kevin Taylor (3.1 points a game), sophomore Jeff Parris (7.8) and freshman Brian Heinle (6.7) to play center and power forward.

Small forward Mike O’Quinn, Northridge’s leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, and seldom-used freshman guard Carloes Harper step in at power forward when Parris or Taylor are in foul trouble--which is frequently.

“I’m more concerned with our consistency,” Braswell said. “We’ve played awfully well and awfully poorly, and I’m not sure which team will show up.”

The Matadors’ strongest Big Sky efforts were victories against Montana State, Montana and Portland State, and one-point losses to Northern Arizona and Weber State.

Watching them at their best, it’s hard to imagine the Matadors’ losing record. O’Quinn twists for layups, Parris posts up and barrels to the basket, freshman guard Carl Holmes makes clean jump shots off the dribble, sophomore guard Greg Minor sinks three-pointers, Heinle and Taylor grab rebounds and guards Trenton Cross and Grundy ignite the fast break.

“We’ve had little battles that have held us back, but from a cohesiveness standpoint, we are stronger than ever. The team is closely knit and working hard,” Braswell said.