Northridge Shakes Off Idaho State

Idaho State players were shaken and stirred before Saturday night’s Big Sky Conference men’s basketball game at Cal State Northridge.

Shaken by the magnitude 4.3 temblor that struck about a half-hour before tipoff.

Stirred by the challenge of facing the Big Sky’s preseason favorite on its home floor.

Ultimately, the Bengals were buried by no-nonsense Northridge, 90-73, before 1,318 at Northridge.

Northridge (10-7, 3-1 in the Big Sky), rebounding from a 76-75 loss at Northern Arizona on Thursday, regained its swagger by bolting to an 18-2 lead against stunned Idaho State (5-8, 1-1) in its conference home opener.

Both teams were in their locker rooms when the ground shook. For most of the Bengals, the experience was a first.

“I’d never been in an earthquake,” said guard Tim Erickson, a native of Salt Lake City. “I heard one guy say, ‘Let’s get the hell out of here.’ ”

Northridge players and coaches were jolted, too. Guard Carl Holmes reportedly ducked beneath a table, although most took it in stride.

“I was scared,” Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell said. “I was looking for my kids.

“I think it pumped us up a little bit. We did what we wanted to do. We really stepped up and responded after losing to Northern Arizona.”

The game wasn’t much of a contest. The Matadors cruised to a 44-30 halftime lead and extended the margin to as much as 27 points in the second half.

Center Brian Heinle, who led Northridge with 20 points, was honored before the game for becoming Northridge’s career scoring leader against Northern Arizona.

Heinle demonstrated his claim to being the Big Sky’s best post player by grabbing 10 rebounds to notch his eighth double-double of the season and 15th of his career.

Heinle also enjoyed his best game from the free-throw line, making nine of nine.

“It’s nice that we played well and we won,” Heinle said. “We just have to keep rolling right now.”

John Burrell had 18 points, Jeff Parris 14 and Marco McCain, returning after a one-game suspension by Braswell for academic reasons, had 15.

Markus Carr contributed 10 assists.

“Any time we play at home, we get a lot of support,” Carr said. “We jumped out to a big lead and we got more confident.”

Despite a few frayed nerves, the Bengals didn’t blame the quake for their collapse.

“That didn’t distract us,” Idaho State Coach Doug Oliver said. “Cal State Northridge’s pressure distracted us. From what I’ve seen, Northridge is as good as everyone said it would be. They’re pretty darned good.”

Erickson, who led the Bengals with 20 points, made things interesting by making five three-point baskets in nine attempts.

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WAVES ROLL

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