Northridge Rocks Portland State and Tops Big Sky Chart

Cal State Northridge had the look of Big Sky Conference champion Thursday night.

And the sound.

With four minutes to play and Northridge well on its way to a 103-83 rout of Portland State, the Matadome public-address announcer matter-of-factly informed the crowd of 1,394 that the Matadors were “alone in first,” thanks to losses earlier in the evening by Montana State and Northern Arizona.

Northridge (11-7, 4-1 in the Big Sky) made it a reality by winning for the fifth time in six games and improving to 6-0 on its home court.

The Matadors, picked to win the Big Sky, moved a half-game ahead of Montana State (3-1) and a step closer to a berth in its first NCAA tournament.

Center Brian Heinle had 28 points and 10 rebounds to notch his ninth double-double, and three other players scored in double figures for Northridge, which moved ahead in the opening minute and maintained the lead the rest of the way.

The victory went well with the announcement Thursday by school officials that Northridge, despite having among the smallest arenas in the Big Sky, would host the conference tournament in March if the Matadors finish first, rather than shop for a larger arena.

Staging the six-team tournament in the 1,600-seat Matadome could result in a financial loss for Northridge when it comes to selling tickets.

But no one is willing to forfeit home-court advantage.

“We’re comfortable here,” Heinle said. “It’s hard for other teams to come in here and play. It’s such a weird place.”

Heinle, who averages 20.2 points to lead the Big Sky, helped stake Northridge to a 20-10 lead with seven of his 19 points in the first half.

Heinle’s three-pointer gave Northridge a 36-23 lead and left Portland State (4-12, 1-4) playing catch-up.

Heinle was three of five from behind the arc. Guard John Burrell, who had 19 points, was three of six from three-point range.

Markus Carr scored 17 points and had nine assists to bring him to within nine of the Matador career record of 481. Jeff Parris added 12 points.

The point total was Northridge’s highest since a 104-98 overtime victory over Eastern Washington in 1998.

“It’s like we’ve been saying all season, we want to get our little gym rockin’,” Carr said. “I see us playing with a lot of confidence here. [But] we’re not happy where we are yet.”

Northridge sputtered briefly in the opening minutes, turning the ball over with bad passes on at least two possessions. Each team had 10 turnovers in the first half.

“I wasn’t completely satisfied with our effort in the first half,” Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell said. “I thought we were a little flaky with the ball. I thought we did better in the second half.”

As for the remaining 11 regular-season games, optimism understandably abounds among the Matadors. Northridge, which plays at home Saturday against Eastern Washington, has played at Northern Arizona and Weber State, among the Big Sky’s most difficult teams to tackle on the road.

Northridge was 12-1 at home last season, losing only to Eastern Washington, 70-68.

“Winning on the road is not easy in any conference,” Portland State Coach Joel Sobotka said. “Northridge did what they had to do. They held the home court.”

Anthony Lackey had 20 points and Dony Wilcher scored 18 for Portland State.