Northridge Runs Into Trouble

Its ranks as thin as mountain air, Cal State Northridge was pushed around for easy shots and offensive rebounds in a 95-78 loss to Weber State on Thursday night before 5,238 at the Dee Events Center.

The loss was the second-worst in Northridge’s three seasons in the Big Sky Conference, but more troubling was the absence of Matadors Greg Minor and Rico Harris, left at home for conduct detrimental to the team.

“Actions and attitudes that had built up over time,” Coach Bobby Braswell said. “People have to respect this program and we won’t allow selfishness.”

Minor and Harris will not play against Cal State Sacramento on Saturday and will meet with Braswell on Monday to determine whether they will rejoin the team for next week’s Big Sky Tournament.

Braswell suspended five players at various times last season, but this team has built strong chemistry as the season progressed, winning seven of nine before Thursday’s debacle. And it was the first time Braswell has disciplined anyone.

Minor, a junior guard from Canyon High, averages 9.2 points and leads Northridge with 59 three-point baskets. Harris, a junior forward, averages 11.7 points and leads the team with 6.6 rebounds a game.

Northridge missed Minor’s three-point shooting--Weber State made eight and the Matadors only four from beyond the arc. The Matadors also missed Harris’ rebounding--they were outrebounded, 40-30, and the Wildcats had 15 offensive boards.

Maybe Braswell wanted to show he means business before the Big Sky Tournament. The games against Weber State and Sacramento are important only as momentum-builders: Northridge (16-11, 8-7 in conference play) already has qualified for the tournament and cannot draw a first-round bye by finishing first or second.

Weber State (21-7, 12-3) and Northern Arizona are tied for first and play Saturday in Ogden with the winner hosting the conference tournament. The victory over Northridge was the Wildcats’ 11th in a row at home.

“Weber State has a lot at stake and they beat us in all the hustle areas,” Braswell said.

Northridge had a chance pull into a tie for third place because Portland State lost earlier Thursday. But any chance of that evaporated early in the second half when Weber State extended a nine-point halftime lead to 74-48 with nine minutes to play.

Derrick Higgins of Northridge led all scorers with 19 points. Carl Holmes scored 13 and Brian Heinle had 12.

If there was any silver lining, it was Heinle making all six of his free throws after missing all six in the final seconds against Eastern Washington and Portland State last week.

Harold Arceneaux and Eddie Gill each scored 17 for Weber State, which emptied the bench with about three minutes to play.

In Northridge’s 78-68 victory over Weber State a month ago, the Matadors surprised the Wildcats with a zone defense. Weber State scored only 10 points in the first 9:30 and shot 27% in the first half as Northridge built a 44-28 lead.

This time, Weber State solved the Northridge zone early and took a 22-14 lead.

The Matadors made a run and cut the deficit to 27-26 on a three-pointer by Holmes and again pulled to within one, 31-30, on a reverse layup by Markus Carr.

However, Gill made two three-pointers in a 20-second span to give the Wildcats some breathing room, 39-32, with two minutes left in the half.

Northridge shot 56% in the half and made 29 of 60 shots in the game, but 20 turnovers and an inability to grab rebounds made it impossible to catch up. Weber State shot 52.4%.

“You never know the effect [of losing players],” Braswell said. “We have a lot of guys who contribute and who can lift this team.”