Matadors Go South, Lose to Portland in Northwest
Maybe it’s the Freeman Williams effect. Maybe it’s a comfort zone. Most likely it’s an unexplainable quirk.
Portland State, which resurrected its basketball program only four years ago, just can’t be beat in its tiny on-campus gym, the Stott Center.
High-flying Cal State Northridge, winner of five in a row and eight of nine, was just another Vikings’ victim Thursday night, losing 76-62 in a Big Sky Conference game.
Northridge (10-4, 2-1) fell behind early and never regrouped. Despite Portland State shooting only 39%. Despite bringing in more momentum than at any time in Coach Bobby Braswell’s four seasons.
The Vikings (9-5, 1-1) won for the 14th consecutive time in Stott Center, one of their three home venues. They also play at Memorial Coliseum and The Rose Garden.
But Stott is hot.
“This is our home, it’s where we practice every day and our kids have a more confident look in their eyes when we play here,” Coach Joel Sobotka said.
It’s a place where guard Derek Nesland suddenly shoots as sharply as Williams did in the 1970s for Portland State when he became the NCAA’s second-leading career scorer.
Nesland scored 21 points and made five three-pointers, including three within a one-minute span early in the second half that sent a Viking message to Northridge: We will not lose in this building.
Portland State outhustled and outmuscled the Matadors, dominating the boards with a 48-31 rebounding advantage. The Vikings had 18 offensive rebounds, enabling them to overcome poor shooting stretches.
Northridge, in fact, outshot Portland State, 39.6% to 39%. But the scoreboard was never that close.
“We did not work hard at executing tonight,” Braswell said. “We came in with grandiose ideas of going undefeated in our conference. Ok, we are not invincible.”
The Vikings’ rebounding edge led to a similar disparity in shot attempts. Portland State led, 54-39, with 12:39 to play and each team had shot 43.8%. However, the Vikings were 21 of 48 while Northridge was 14 of 32.
“We were embarrassed,” Northridge guard Carl Holmes said. “It hurts.”
Midway through the second half, Northridge was reduced to fouling on nearly every Portland State possession. The Vikings, the Big Sky’s worst free-throw shooting team, made only 23 of 37, but many of the misses found their way back into their hands.
Viking forward Ime Udoka had 13 rebounds, nine assists and made 10 of 12 free throws to make up for a two-of-14 shooting performance.
Andre Larry scored 12 points and Holmes had 11 for Northridge. Center Brian Heinle, the team’s leading scorer, scored three points and forward Jeff Parris, who averages 13, scored six.
The Matadors shot and rebounded horribly in the first half, and easily could trailed by more than the 37-27 halftime score.
Three short baskets by normally low-scoring freshman center Dan Read were Northridge’s only field goals in the first 8:40. An 11-point run put Portland State ahead, 18-8, and the margin grew to 27-12 with 7:42 to play.
The Vikings’ success in this tiny gym is puzzling because the sparse crowd of 1,283 was sedate. Intimidation was not a factor.
“I can’t explain why they always win here,” Braswell said. “That’s not my concern.
“We need to play better. Hopefully we learned something from this.”
