Carr Delivers Down Stretch for Northridge

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 block either.

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 Northridge.

Carr’s driving jump shot from the lane with 18 seconds to play snapped a 66-66 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 said.

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

With no timeouts, Northern Arizona (6-7, 0-2) quickly worked the ball to guard Ross Land for a three-point attempt, 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, pulled a repeat performance against the Matadors, who shot 37.3% from the field.

The Lumberjacks, predicted to finish second in the Big Sky, opened an 18-8 lead and appeared poised for a rout.

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.

Jeff Parris led Northridge with 19 points before fouling out with 1:55 to play and the Matadors leading, 65-64. Heinle had 17 points and Carl Holmes had 16.