Matadors Make Some Noise With a Quiet Victory

Things got so quiet Tuesday night at Selland Arena you could hear a Shark’s jaw drop.

Had Jerry Tarkanian, Fresno State’s colorful basketball coach, been chomping on his famed towel, the 10,220 in attendance might have heard it hit the floor, too.

Instead, Tarkanian, a.k.a “The Shark,” used the linen to mop his bald head in disgust.

Cal State Northridge, in a nonconference game not as close as the score, shocked Fresno State, 69-66, defeating the Bulldogs for the first time since 1971 and recording arguably the biggest upset in the program’s history.

So big, Coach Bobby Braswell’s postgame emotions bordered on tears.

“Absolutely,” Braswell said. “I am so proud of Northridge basketball and what these guys have accomplished. This is the kind of game I’ve been dreaming about for this program for the past four years. It’s going to be a great ride home.”

Northridge (2-1) took the lead for good in the first half and led, 52-34 on Andre Larry’s dunk with 10 minutes to play.

The Matadors had a 10-2 run in the first half and a 9-2 run in the second half.

They capitalized on dismal shooting by Fresno State, which was playing its fifth game in seven days.

The Bulldogs made 24 of 71 shots, including 12 of 44 from three-point range. Fresno State made the game close only with a string of three-pointers during catch-up time.

“This is a big win for Northridge basketball,” said Jeff Parris, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds. “Emotions were definitely running high [in the locker room].”

Momentum swung so favorably in the Matadors’ direction that the “Tarkmeter,” a gauge measuring decibels inside the arena gave uncharacteristically low readings.

On at least two occasions, the crowd even booed.

“I said to the guys when we were leaving the court at halftime, ‘I hope you heard that they were being booed a little bit,’ ” Braswell said.

The booing grew louder in the second half, and on more than one occasion. They resounded when Markus Carr’s layup gave the Matadors a 38-28 lead.

They resounded again when Hewitt Rolle rebounded a missed free throw and scored.

“We came up here to play Northridge defense and we did,” Rolle said. “But now it’s time to go back to work.”

Junior center Brian Heinle, replaced as a starter for poor defensive play, led the way with a 27 points.

“They’re a great team and they have a lot of great players,” Heinle said. “But this is no place to come and be intimidated before 10,000 fans. We were just trying to play our game and it worked out well.”

Northridge benefited from the absence of guard Courtney Alexander of Fresno State, who was sidelined with a injury.

Fresno State made only one of its first 10 shots and two of its first 14. A three-point basket by Marco McCain gave the Matadors their first lead, 10-8, and Heinle followed with an inside basket moments later to extend the run to 10-2.

Heinle made an inside basket to give Northridge a 16-9 lead.

Fresno State stayed close on two inside baskets by Melvin Ely, but a 9-2 run late in the half returned momentum to the Matadors.

Jeff Parris’ basket at the buzzer gave Northridge a 32-25 at the half.