Matadors Don’t Go South When West Departs

Mr. Clutch missed a clutch performance Saturday night at Cal State Northridge.

Northridge, in a remarkable closing rally, overcame a 17-point deficit in the final eight minutes and shocked Portland State, 79-78, in a crucial Big Sky Conference game before 1,329 at the Matadome.

Jeff Parris’ two free throws with 1:46 to play put the Matadors ahead, 75-74, their first lead since early in the game.

Northridge took the lead for good, 77-76, on Andre Larry’s layup with 24 seconds to play, and Markus Carr made two free throws with 5.7 seconds left.

Northridge’s 24-6 closing run salvaged a poor overall performance and kept the Matadors (16-9, 8-6 in conference play) two games ahead of Portland State (14-12, 6-8) and alone in fifth place with two games to play.

The Big Sky’s top six teams will compete in the conference tournament beginning March 9 at the home of the first-place team.

“That was an amazing comeback,” Carr said. “It seemed like we had enough time to do it and we did. It was a game of runs, and we made one hell of a run at the end.”

Not everyone stuck around to see the outcome.

Jerry West, NBA Hall of Famer and Laker executive vice president, watched from courtside as the Matadors shot poorly and fell behind by 19 points early in the second half.

With 7:32 to play and Northridge trailing, 72-55, West, a.k.a. “Mr. Clutch” during his playing days, headed for the exit.

Meanwhile, the Matadors aimed for Portland State.

“He’ll be the most shocked guy when he reads it in the paper [today],” Coach Bobby Braswell said of West.

“I don’t know how you coach that. The last time I called time out I didn’t know what to say to them. You just tell them to step up. We were playing horribly on defense.”

Northridge began its comeback by scoring 11 consecutive points, including a three-point basket from the top of the lane by Brian Heinle, who scored 19 points.

Heinle’s second three-pointer from the same spot pulled Northridge to within 74-73 with 2:26 left.

Heinle, the Matadors’ scoring leader, rebounded from four consecutive games in which he was held to 11 points or fewer.

“Personally, I just didn’t want to lose again,” Heinle said. “I know I needed to step up and play. I think we were all fed up..”

Poor free-throw shooting and 10 second-half turnovers contributed to Portland State’s demise. The Vikings forged an inspired effort in the absence of forward Ime Udoka, who injured a knee Thursday night at Northern Arizona.

Udoka, averaging 14.8 points, returned to Oregon on Friday for treatment. A Northridge spokesman said West attended the game to watch Udoka.