O’Quinn Is Mighty in Northridge Victory

Mike O’Quinn’s finest hour kept Cal State Northridge even, and the Matadors’ free-throw shooting put them over the top in overtime.

O’Quinn set a Big Sky tournament record with 39 points and had a career-high 15 rebounds, including one with 12.5 seconds to play that cemented Northridge’s 104-98 victory over Eastern Washington on Thursday night in a first-round game at Flagstaff, Ariz.

Sixth-seeded Northridge (12-15), which advanced to the tournament final last season on the strength of two upsets, will play top-seeded Northern Arizona in a semifinal tonight.

After O’Quinn’s layup early in overtime put Northridge ahead for good, Jeff Parris made four of four free throws and Lucky Grundy made six of six. Two more by O’Quinn after he was fouled on the last rebound gave the Matadors 17 straight and 12 in a row in overtime. O’Quinn, a small forward who leads Northridge with a 15.6 scoring average, has played extensively at power forward since Jabari Simmons left the team.

“It was time to be a senior and time to step up and take a leadership role,” said O’Quinn, who made 12 of 18 shots and 12 of 15 free throws. “That did put a smile on my face.”

Shannon Taylor and Karim Scott of Eastern Washington (16-11) each scored 28 points with Taylor making seven three-pointers.

In the other game, Montana State beat Montana, 68-60.