Northridge Wins Its First Big Sky Title

This time, Markus Carr made the basket.

And Cal State Northridge made good on Coach Bobby Braswell’s prediction.

Carr’s off-balance 17-foot jump shot with 2.2 seconds to play lifted Northridge to an 86-84 victory over Eastern Washington before 2,971 Thursday night at Reese Court, giving the Matadors their first Big Sky Conference regular-season title and the right to host the conference tournament next week.

In the final seconds of a see-saw game, Carr nearly dribbled the length of the court before pulling up and shooting over Jamal Jones to the left of the paint. The basket triggered an eruption from the Northridge bench, as well as a few memories for Carr.

Last season, Carr’s layup with two seconds to play in regulation against Northern Arizona in the Big Sky tournament final was unsuccessful and the Matadors lost in overtime, 85-81.

“When it left my hand, everything was in slow motion,” said Carr, a junior point guard. “I was hoping it wouldn’t fall short, and it didn’t.”

Northridge, 19-9 overall and 12-3 in the Big Sky, will host the six-team Big Sky tournament Thursday through Saturday, with the winner advancing to the NCAA tournament.

The game featured 10 lead changes before Eastern Washington (15-10, 10-5), vying for a season-sweep of Northridge, pulled even, 84-84, on Aaron Olson’s three-pointer from the corner with 16.6 seconds to play.

From there, Carr dribbled slowly, then rapidly toward the winning basket.

“The play was designed and it was the same play as last year,” Carr said. “I was in my mind, thoughts of last year. I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”

Said Braswell: “For Markus Carr to get a chance to win a league championship for us . . . I am just the happiest man in the world.”

The victory was Northridge’s first over the Eagles in six games and first at Reese Court since 1997.

It also was far from typical for the Matadors.

For once, forward Jeff Parris, a 6-foot-5 physical presence, avoided foul trouble, while many of his teammates didn’t.

Center Brian Heinle, the Big Sky’s leading scorer, spent nine minutes on the bench in the second half after picking up his fourth foul. Heinle, who played a season-low 22 minutes, returned with six minutes to play and scored seven of his 15 points down the stretch.

Guard John Burrell, who had nine points off the bench, fouled out with three minutes to play, and Heinle, Lionel Benjamin, Carl Holmes and Marco McCain all played with four fouls in the second half.

“We all had four fouls,” Holmes said. “But we weren’t going to come out. The seniors on this team were not going to let us lose.”