Carr Drives Northridge to Victory

The way Cal State Northridge kept missing shots Thursday night against Northern Arizona, Markus Carr’s short jump shot seemed a long shot to fall.

The way Northern Arizona was making three-pointers, Carr wasn’t likely to come up with a game-saving blocked shot.

But Carr did both, and Northridge, despite a horrendous shooting performance, came from behind to defeat the Lumberjacks, 69-66, in a Big Sky Conference opener before a season-high 1,369 at the Matadome.

Carr’s driving shot from the lane with 18 seconds to play snapped a 68-68 tie, and the Matadors (9-3) made two defensive stands to preserve the victory.

“Markus showed a lot of poise and made a big shot,” Coach Bobby Braswell of Northridge said.

With five seconds to play, Brian Heinle of Northridge drew a foul while rebounding a missed three-point shot by Cory Schwab, and his free throw gave the Matadors a three-point lead.

With no timeouts, Northern Arizona (6-7, 0-2 in conference play) quickly worked the ball to guard Ross Land for a three-point shot, but Carr made a perfect block as time expired.

“They’re a good three-point shooting team,” Carr said. “I didn’t want to see them get a wide-open shot.”

Northern Arizona, which squandered a 16-point lead in a 65-62 loss to Sacramento State on Tuesday night, pulled a repeat performance against the Matadors.

The Lumberjacks, projected to finish second in the Big Sky, opened an 18-8 lead and appeared poised for a blowout. Seven-foot center Dan McClintock, the Big Sky’s player of the year in 1998, had four points and drew three fouls in the first 90 seconds. Center Dan Read of Northridge committed two fouls against McClintock in the first 50 seconds.

Northridge performed poorly, statistically. The Matadors shot only 37.3% from the field and 51.4% from the free-throw line.

“I said [to the team], ‘Welcome to the conference,’ and I meant it,” Braswell said. “Our guys were a little tentative, that’s what I attribute [our performance] to. We probably had our worst two days of practice this week. But it’s a win, shoot. The bottom line is, we’re 1-0.”

Carr had only seven points and was hobbled by a sprained right wrist suffered during a collision in the second half. Carr’s hand and wrist were wrapped heavily in ice after the game. He is expected to have X-rays taken today.

“We just didn’t have a good game,” Carr said. “That’s all I can say, really. This is a team that really has to learn from its mistakes.”

Northridge pulled even twice in the second half before taking its first lead, 65-64, on two free throws by Carl Holmes.

Holmes’ free throw with 1:28 left gave Northridge a 66-64. McClintock, who scored 15 points, tied the game with 58 seconds to play.

Jeff Parris scored 19 points for Northridge, Heinle had 17 and Holmes added 16.