Northridge, Weber State Battle in Opener

Weber State (18-9), an overwhelming preseason choice to repeat as Big Sky Conference champion, struggled to a fourth-place finish and will play fifth-seeded Cal State Northridge (18-9) tonight in the first round of the conference tournament. Third-seeded Northern Arizona (17-10) plays Portland State (15-13) in the other first-round game at Montana’s Adams Center.

Montana and Eastern Washington have first-round byes. The championship game is Saturday night with the winner advancing to the NCAA tournament.

“It doesn’t matter what anyone’s record is now,” Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell said. “Right now you’re going to have six hungry teams.”

Northridge and Weber State split two games and finished with 10-6 conference records.

The Matadors went 3-5 in conference road games and gave up a school-record 113 points in a loss at Weber State in January. The Matadors were 12-1 at home and begin the tournament with a three-game winning streak, including a 76-62 victory over Weber State last week at Northridge.

“Right now, we’re in good shape,” Braswell said. “If we play hard and play smart, we can beat anybody.”

Forward Andre Larry, who left the team in January for personal reasons, then returned after missing three games, is averaging 12.9 points. Center Brian Heinle leads Northridge in scoring at 16.2 points. Forward Jeff Parris has been Northridge’s dominant player down the stretch. Parris had 23 points and 10 rebounds in a victory over Cal State Sacramento on Saturday.