Great Escape for Matadors in Last Minute

Cal State Northridge kept its undefeated home record intact, but the Matadors knew they had won ugly after posting a 79-77 Big Sky Conference victory over Idaho State before 1,202 on Thursday night.

Northridge (14-6, 6-3 in Big Sky play) led most of the game but narrowly avoided a second-half collapse against the last-place Bengals (6-14, 1-8), who rallied in the final minutes to create a close finish.

The Matadors led the entire first half and led, 61-48, with 10 minutes to play. But Idaho State launched a run and took their first lead, 71-70, on Tim Erickson’s layup with 3:38 to play.

Idaho State led again, 75-73, with 2:40 to play and was in position to win in the final minute. With 27.3 seconds to play and Northridge leading, 77-75, Kevin Sweetwyne’s driving attempt from the baseline was unsuccessful and Jeff Parris rebounded with 13 seconds left.

Sweetwyne led all scorers with 31 points.

After Parris closed the gap to 75-73 with a free throw, Marco McCain made a steal and layup with 2:06 to play for a one-point Northridge lead. Another Parris free throw put the Matadors ahead, 77-75, with 1:23 remaining.

Northridge remained in a second-place tie with Weber State, which defeated Portland State on Thursday. First-place Eastern Washington (5-2 in conference play) did not play Thursday.

The Matadors, who defeated Idaho State, 101-86, last month at Pocatello, expressed relief to have escaped with a victory.

“Sometimes it’s like this,” Coach Bobby Braswell said. “At the end of the season, all that matters is the win. The bottom line is, we did what we needed to do at the end of the game.”

Center Brian Heinle was involved from beginning to end for Northridge. Heinle, playing 34 minutes, led the Matadors with 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Heinle, the Matadors’ leading scorer, said the team came out flat.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get up for a game,” Heinle said. “We went into Pocatello and played pretty good against them. I think we felt we could just come out here with a C-plus effort and still win. It was real tough at the end.”

Northridge appeared to be still adjusting to the absence of forward Andre Larry, who left the team last week for personal reasons. Idaho State out-rebounded the Matadors, 42-38.

Northridge’s red-hot three-point shooting also cooled.

The Matadors made five of 13 three-point attempts. McCain, who made six three-pointers in each of the last two games, was two of seven, including zero for four in the second half.

“We weren’t taking them lightly, we just played badly in the second half,” Parris said. “It felt like we were being complacent.”

Northridge does not play again until Feb. 12 at Northern Arizona. That will give guard Markus Carr time to heal a sprained left ankle suffered against Idaho State.

Carr, his ankle wrapped in ice, said he doesn’t expect to be sidelined. Carr scored four points and led Northridge with 11 assists.

Northridge led, 39-35, at halftime and began the second half with a 7-0 run. The Matadors built a 57-43 lead, thanks to a breakaway basket by Parris and two free throws by McCain on a technical foul against Idaho State Coach Doug Oliver.