BIG FIRST STEP FOR CSUN : CS NORTHRIDGE 74 MONTANA ST. 56.

Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer

They surveyed the Montana State lineup - all muscle and bulk and elbows and broad backsides - and simply shrugged.

The members of Cal State Northridge's basketball team knew they'd be in for lot of welts and bruises Thursday night in the first round of the Big Sky Conference tournament, but this deep in the season, this close to the head-spinning achievement of a berth in the NCAA Tournament, they figured they'd apply their quickness, their hustle - plus a generous dose of determination - and take their chances.

The payoff was a 74-56 rout of Montana State at Northern Arizona University, as the Matadors produced an 11-2 scoring spurt to break open a tight game midway through the second half, then held Montana State scoreless for a span of 8 minutes, 1 second down the stretch.

``It means a whole lot to us,'' said guard Derrick Higgins, who led the team with 17 points - and did most of the damage during that scoring surge. ``First year in the Big Sky. Last seed. Weren't supposed to be here. Little ol' Northridge. So we came in here trying to make some noise.''

Northridge will hope to produce its next cacophony tonight in the semifinal round, when it plays No. 1-seeded Northern Arizona on the Lumberjacks' home court. An upset victory there would result in a date in Saturday night's tournament final, and a victory there would . . . oh, geez, they don't want to think too long on that prospect. Not just yet.

``I told them to enjoy this victory tonight,'' said coach Bobby Braswell. ``For an hour or so.''

There should be no doubt that the Matadors will savor this accomplishment against the tournament's third-seeded team. For a lot of reasons.

Northridge (13-14) lost a tough game at home to Montana State (16-14) exactly one month ago, falling 83-79. That was painful enough. Then the players picked up the morning newspaper.

Montana State swingman Dante Rabb, citing a juncture in the second half in which the Bobcats grabbed four rebounds in a row, was quoted as saying, ``That right there showed us we wanted it more.''

Said CSUN center Tom Samson after this one: ``Needless to say, that was a great motivating factor. When you see point guards rebounding for us, you know how hard we're working.''

Northridge did, indeed, work diligently inside against Montana State's superior height and bulk. The Matadors finished with a 45-39 edge on the boards. Their quickness also resulted in nine steals.

Add it together with some spirited defense and it's not difficult to see how CSUN pulled off its third-most-lopsided victory of the season.

``In the first half, we were just trading baskets,'' said guard Trenton Cross, who backed Higgins' scoring with 16 points. ``In the second half, we knew time was winding down. We didn't want to go home. Everybody just turned it up.''

CSUN, a notoriously slow-starting team this year, fought through the first 28 minutes simply staying close to Montana State. Over that span, there were an astounding 22 lead changes.

But then Northridge, trailing 50-49 with just under 12 minutes remaining, began to free its guards on the perimeter - far from the behemoths underneath.

Higgins canned a 3-pointer from the top of the circle. Cross followed with a 3-pointer from the left wing, with Higgins then gunning another in from roughly the same spot. It keyed an 11-2 run in a span of 2:54.

And Northridge pulled away.

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Photo: (Color) CSUN's Tom Samson, left, fights for the ball against Montana State.

Associated Press