[0] CARR PARKED, CSUN STALLS STAR PUNISHED VS. SD STATE SDSU 80, CSUN 70.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO - Markus Carr broke the Cal State Northridge huddle and turned toward the bench.

He looked for an open seat but couldn't find one. He kept walking and was nearly at the end of the bench when a teammate moved down so Carr could sit closer to the coaches.

It was a rare sight indeed.

Carr, the only returning starter from last years NCAA Tournament team, didn't start against San Diego State on Saturday because he was late to a team meal earlier in the day. It was the first time he hadn't started since the 1998-99 season.

Four minutes into the game, Carr was back in the mix. He did what he does best - dish, drain shots and keep CSUN close. But not close enough.

Carr had a team-high 22 points but San Diego State used a balanced scoring attack to hold off a pesky CSUN team 80-70 In front of a crowd of 5,435 at Cox Arena.

``There's no compromises,'' CSUN coach Bobby Braswell said. ``(Carr) knew he screwed up. I'm glad I did it because I think it gave Ed Estavan some confidence. He wasn't intimidated.

Estavan, a junior college transfer, proved more than capable running the show and scored nine points with two assists. A few days earlier, Braswell had talked about playing Estavan at point to give Carr more looks.

After scoring just five points on six shots in a 34-point loss at Howard on Monday, Carr made nine of 21 shots Saturday.

``Coach wants me to take more shots and he wants me to make them,'' Carr said. ``If that means taking 21 shots, then so be it.''

San Diego State overcame its miscues - 26 turnovers - and led by as many as 14 points. But CSUN pulled within five at 63-58 on a Carr dunk off a nice feed from freshman Chris Davis with 6:36 left. Moments earlier, Estavan knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing.

``It's coming along with practice,'' said Estavan, who missed most of the preseason practices with a concussion. ``I hadn't practiced a lot but now I'm starting to get more confidence with the team. Markus has taught me a lot.''

The Aztecs (4-2) had three players who scored in double digits but Carr was the only one for the Matadors, who started the season 1-3 for the first time since the 1997-98 season.

San Diego State's Tony Bland had a team-high 22 points, Al Faux added 21 and Randy Holcomb 20 points and 10 rebounds.

CSUN made just 12 of 27 free throws compared to 33 of 44 for San Diego State. The Aztecs also outrebounded the Matadors 45-24.

CSUN shot 42 percent and had 14 turnovers.

``I told the guys that we took a step forward to show that kind of courage on the road,'' Braswell said. ``I told them (down the stretch) that we needed to make our free throws and limit their second shots and we didn't do that. If we made our free throws, who knows?''

San Diego State went on a 8-0 run midway through the second half to build a 14-point lead at 59-45 with 11:27 left. During the run, Bland, the Mountain West Conference's leading scorer, dunked an alley-oop pass from Myron Epps.

Carr made a free throw to pull CSUN within 69-60 with 3:37 left, but Bland killed the comeback. He hit a 3-pointer from the left wing 30 seconds later for a 72-60 lead.

``We had a chance to win,'' Carr said. ``It came down to playing smart and hitting free throws. We didn't do that.''

San Diego State has its best six-games stretch since the 1984-85 team finished 5-1 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Steve Fisher, who coached Michigan to the national title in 1989, led the Aztecs to a 14-14 season last year. San Diego State seems primed for a run at the Mountain West title this season.