Chill Is Gone for Northridge in 89-78 Victory

Cal State Northridge came in from the cold and, it seems, into its own as Big Sky Conference favorite with an 89-78 victory over Weber State in a conference opener before 3,973 Thursday night at Dee Events Center.

Northridge (8-6), picked to win the Big Sky, got off on the right foot, reversing a trend of poor shooting and posting only its second victory at one of the conference’s most hostile arenas.

Center Brian Heinle scored 28 points and reserve guard John Burrell scored a season-high 28 for the Matadors--2-11 against the Wildcats (5-6) at Ogden, which has been blanketed in snow since the team arrived Wednesday.

Quite a change in climate for the Matadors, who shot below 40% in two of three losses at the Nike Festival in Hawaii two weeks ago and lost three of its previous four.

“This is the way to jump into conference, beating Weber State at their place,” Burrell said. “We’re on a mission to get to the [NCAA] tournament. We think we’re better than anyone in the league, but we have to prove it.”

Weber State (5-6), Big Sky champion in 1999, is 444-88 (83.5%) at home in 39 seasons, including a 113-92 victory over Northridge last year in which the Wildcats scored a school-record 76 second-half points and Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell was ejected.

This time, Northridge remained poised and took control down the stretch. The Matadors rallied from a 10-point first half-deficit and took the lead for good, 49-48, on a dunk by Heinle four minutes into the second half.

The Matadors extended the lead to 71-61 on Burrell’s layup with seven minutes to play.

Weber State turned the ball over on three of four possessions in the final three minutes. Guard Jermaine Boyette, who scored 36 points last week against Brigham Young, was held to 12--nine below his average--including only three in the second half.

“Too many turnovers, and we didn’t play well in the second half against a very good team,” Weber State Coach Joe Cravens said.

Burrell, a transfer from Nevada, was the biggest factor. He made nine of 10 free throws and all three of his three-point shots.

“He was absolutely amazing,” Braswell said. “Brian and John carried us.

“This is one of the toughest places to play in the country, so it’s a big hurdle. We played with a lot of pride. Mixing up our defenses really made the difference.”

Northridge guard Markus Carr left the game in the final minutes because of a sprained left ankle and was scheduled to have X-rays taken Thursday night.