After Losing, Northridge Hopes It Hasn’t Lost Parris

Cal State Northridge lost a nonconference basketball game Thursday night. Whether the Matadors lost a lot more remains to be seen.

Either way, the sight of forward Jeff Parris limping to the bench in the second half was more far more disheartening than a 71-67 loss to balanced Alabama-Birmingham in the first of the Matadors’ three games in the Nike Festival at Hawaii.

Northridge (6-4), shooting only 37.5% from the field, at times was as cold as the bag of ice wrapped tightly around Parris’ right ankle after the game.

Parris, the Matadors’ physical leader, suffered what coaches hope is only a sprain with 5:44 to play and Northridge trailing, 57-53. After having his ankle taped, Parris returned for the final three minutes but did not score.

The 6-foot-5 senior forward limped slowly from the locker room, leaving Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell uncertain whether Parris would play tonight against Hawaii or Saturday against Georgia State.

“We don’t know,” Braswell said. “We’re hoping it’s just a sprain.”

Northridge, in the middle of an eight-day road trip that began with a victory Monday at James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va., was flat against the Blazers (5-3).

Parris was his usual physical self, collecting his fourth foul on the play in which he was injured and finishing with 15 points in 26 minutes.

Center Brian Heinle, who averages a team-high 18.1 points, was six of 14 shooting, including one of six in the second half. Heinle missed four in a row during one stretch. finishing with 16 points.

“I don’t want to make any excuses,” Heinle said. “Losing is our punishment. We weren’t executing the way we need to to win. I guess the team was cold. I think we were just pressing. We just couldn’t get the shots we wanted.”

Northridge guard John Burrell scored all of his team-high 20 points after the first half ended at 33-33. Burrell was six of 10 from the field, including three three-pointers in five attempts.

Burrell scored nine points in the final 3:10, pulling the Matadors to within 69-67 with a three-pointer with 8.9 seconds to play. But Alabama-Birmingham, with four players scoring in double figures, didn’t fold. The Blazers out-rebounded Northridge, 40-31.

“That was, probably, the worst-executed game we’ve played,” Burrell said. “We weren’t smart. We made some stops, defensively, and came close on some possessions. But that’s what happens when you play with the best. We know we can compete. It’s about finishing these games.”

LeAndrew Bass led Alabama-Birmingham with 22 points.