Northridge Gets Its 20th Victory

Cal State Northridge closed out the Big Sky Conference regular season at Portland, Ore., by defeating Portland State, 81-75, Saturday night for its fifth consecutive victory and ninth in 10 games.

The Big Sky regular-season champion Matadors (20-9, 13-3), 20-game winners for the second consecutive season, will host the six-team conference tournament Thursday through Saturday, with the winner advancing to the NCAA tournament.

Guard Carl Holmes scored a season-high 15 points and center Brian Heinle, despite suffering a dislocated finger on his right hand during the first half, had 18 points and 13 rebounds for his 16th double-double.

Markus Carr had 17 points and 10 assists for Northridge.

Northridge took a 51-50 lead in the second half on two free throws by Joey Busch and did not trail again. Forward Jeff Parris had 14 points for Northridge, including a two-handed dunk that gave the Matadors a 78-70 lead with 2:09 left.

Portland State (9-18, 6-10), eliminated from postseason play, took a 35-34 halftime lead, despite going scoreless for more than eight minutes during the first half. It was the Vikings’ first loss at Stott Center in seven games this season.

Charles Madison had 18 points for the Vikings.