Northridge Comeback Ends in the Deep Freeze

A 3 1/2-hour flight and a 40-minute drive on snow-covered roads to freezing Northwest backwater Eastern Washington for this?

To fall behind by 23 points seven minutes into the game?

Cal State Northridge recognized the absurdity and clawed back from a 17-point halftime deficit to bring about a dramatic finish.

Matador center Brian Heinle was fouled with two seconds to play and Northridge trailing by two. He made the first free throw and Eastern Washington called time out.

It was as if the gym doors opened to let in the cold night air. The wait succeeded in icing Heinle, whose second free throw careened off the heel, allowing the Eagles to escape with a 78-77 Big Sky Conference victory in front of 1,134 on Thursday night.

As bad as the drive was from the Matadors’ hotel in Spokane to Cheney, the journey back was worse for Heinle, a sophomore enjoying an outstanding season. He was too inconsolable to comment.

“Coach told him the game shouldn’t have come down to that free throw,” Northridge forward Andre Larry said. “We all told him that and we all believe it.”

The Matadors only had to recall the outset. Northridge fell behind 11-0 and 27-4 before staging a modest comeback to trail at halftime, 46-29.

The real surge came in the second half when Larry, who scored a career-high 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, and Derrick Higgins scored the first 22 Matador points.

Northridge (15-10, 7-6 in Big Sky play) caught the Eagles, 61-61, on Larry’s three-point basket with 8:50 to play and took a 65-63 lead on Heinle’s three-pointer less than two minutes later.

Each team made 11 three-pointers and Eastern Washington guard Shannon Taylor made seven of 15 to set a single-season Big Sky record with 83.

Larry made five of seven from beyond the arc and Greg Minor made four of nine for Northridge, his only shots of the game.

Minor’s three-pointer with 4:45 left gave Northridge its only three-point lead, 72-69. The Eagles (9-14, 6-7) outplayed the Matadors the next several minutes and held a 77-76 advantage and the ball with less than a minute to play.

Strong Northridge defense forced Taylor to launch a desperation three-point shot that missed as the 35-second clock elapsed and Larry rebounded and called timeout with 18 seconds remaining.

Jason Crowe had the ball stolen by Deon Williams near midcourt and fouled Williams, who made one free throw with 10 seconds left. Higgins brought the ball upcourt and passed to Minor, who tossed it to Heinle in the key, where he was fouled.

“It’s a tough loss because we fought so hard,” Coach Bobby Braswell said. “We got over the hump and took a lead but we had several possessions down the stretch where we shot too quickly.”

Taylor, who helped Ventura College to state championships in 1995 and ‘96, and Eagle guard Ryan Hansen each scored 14 points in the first half.

Williams, Eastern Washington’s best player, was hobbling with an ankle injury and did not enter the game until the Eagles had built a 27-12 lead.

A three-pointer by Larry cut the deficit to 36-26 with 2:25 left in the first half. However, Hansen and Taylor each hit a three-pointer in the last minute.

Taylor’s came at the buzzer in front of the Northridge bench and he tried to high-five Matador players after the shot. The Northridge players were too shocked to respond . . . until the second half.

“It was like a prize fight,” Braswell said. “They hit us and dazed us, then we regrouped and showed a lot of spirit.”