CSUN NOTEBOOK: CSUN'S WORK ISN'T DONE YET.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

PORTLAND, Ore. - Brian Heinle made sure reporters were aware Cal State Northridge's regular-season finale against Portland State today does have meaning.

Not on the standings. CSUN already clinched the Big Sky Conference title and the right to host the conference tournament (starting Thursday) with an 86-84 win over Eastern Washington on Thursday in Cheney, Wash.

However, Heinle, who played at Sheldon High in Eugene, said the team can't afford to let up.

``Our work isn't done,'' Heinle said. ``We've got two games to go. Scratch that, we've got three to go to reach our ultimate goal (of making the NCAA Tournament). We have to win (tonight) because I'm not going to lose a game in my home state.''

And if the Matadors (19-9, 12-3) beat the Vikings (9-17, 6-9), they'll record 20 wins for the second consecutive season, which could help in NCAA tournament seedings.

A loss could mean the difference between a 14th and 15th seed if Northridge wins the Big Sky tournament, which it must do to move on the NCAA tournament.

The selection committee strongly considers how a team played over its final 10 games. The Matadors have won eight of their last nine and five straight.

However, no Big Sky team has won at Portland State's Stott Center this year. Portland State, which beat Northern Arizona 68-64 on Thursday, is 6-0 at home. CSUN beat Portland State 103-83 last month in Northridge.

--Tournament tickets: Big Sky Conference Tournament passes are on sale now at the CSUN athletic ticket office. The ticket office is not open on the weekend but will reopen Monday morning. The office has taken orders the past few weeks. Fans who already ordered tickets will get them first.

CSUN has a bye for Thursday's first-round games but will play at 8:35 p.m. on Friday, a game which will be on Fox Sports Net. The Nos. 2 through 6 seeds will be determined after tonight's games. The tournament championship game is at 6:05 p.m. Saturday and will be on ESPN2.

--Change of plans: CSUN coach Bobby Braswell was angry at first about Wednesday's travel schedule to Washington, which included a two-hour layover in San Francisco. In each of his first four years, Northridge flew Alaskan Airlines to Seattle and then on to Spokane for its games against Eastern Washington. Assistant coach Eric Brown booked the team on a United flight from Burbank to San Francisco to Spokane.

Had CSUN flown to Seattle, it would've been stuck at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport most of the day because of Wednesday morning's magnitude-6.8 earthquake. Braswell wasn't so ticked when he found out about the earthquake.

--Sophomore sensation: Forward Lionel Benjamin hasn't been around long but he had an idea of what the Big Sky Conference title meant to the seniors. That group finished 12-16 in the 1997-98 season.

Benjamin had another solid game with 11 points and a block.

``I've heard all the stories about how we came up short,'' Benjamin said. ``I just tried to bring as much energy as I could and help them out and act on their vibe.''

Players were acting on Benjamin's vibe too. The sophomore threw down a one-handed dunk for the second consecutive game.

--They're still talking: Cal State Northridge's victory over UCLA in November at Pauley Pavilion still looms large.

Two anchors on the FOX national sports report were debating Thursday night whether UCLA should get a No. 1 seed in the West Regional if it beats Stanford today. Kevin Frazier's repeated response to why the Bruins shouldn't? ``Yeah, but they lost to Cal State Northridge. Cal State Northridge!''