FOR NORTHRIDGE, PAYTON SHOWS UP AT RIGHT PLACE : CSUN 78 E. WASH. 75.

Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer

When you get a motivational talk from Walter Payton and a career-high 30 points from Trenton Cross, you're sitting pretty.

The Cal State Northridge basketball team got both of those and a couple other firsts here in the Pacific Northwest.

A 78-75 victory over Eastern Washington on Thursday night in front of 1,148 at Reese Court was the Matadors' first road victory in the Big Sky Conference and first victory this season in a game decided by seven points or less.

``I'm always talking about making big plays at the end of a close game to win it,'' said Northridge coach Bobby Braswell, whose team entered the game 1-7 on the road this season (0-3 in conference) and 0-7 in close games. ``We made plays tonight.''

The Matadors were on an emotional high before the game, thinking back to the 45-minute talk they received Wednesday night from NFL Hall of Famer Payton in Braswell's hotel room.

Braswell met Payton earlier in the day in the lobby of the team's hotel. When Payton returned from a speaking engagement at 10:30 p.m., he called Braswell and asked if he could speak to his team. The Matadors were all in Braswell's suite, having just finished watching film when Payton showed up.

``I can't even describe how much that man means to us,'' said Kevin Taylor, who scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

``He said everything coach always says,'' said Lucky Grundy, who did not start at point guard for the first time in 18 games but was in the game alongside Cross the final five minutes.

Payton, who was in town for a speaking engagement, told the Matadors to believe in themselves and the victories would come. Braswell swore Thursday he had not briefed Payton on Northridge's struggles of late and inability to win close games.

Thanks to Payton, the early play of Cross, the late play of Grundy and the re-emergence of Taylor, the Matadors are chokers no more.

A 20-2 run that started with six minutes to play brought the Matadors back from a 68-58 deficit and gave them a 78-70 lead with 29 seconds to play.

Northridge missed three free throws after that, and a 3-pointer by Travis King had to bounce of the rim for Northridge to avoid overtime.

``I'll take it,'' Braswell said after the Matadors (9-12, 5-6) stopped a four-game losing streak and extended to eight games the losing run for Eastern Washington (6-16, 2-10).

Cross, making his first start since November, when he lost his starting point guard job to Grundy, scored 14 points in the second half. But it was a 3-pointer by Grundy with 58 seconds left that gave Northridge a 74-70 lead.

Asked if the play he had called was designed for a Grundy 3-pointer, Braswell threw back his head and said, ``Oh no.''

Grundy explained the ball was supposed to go to Cross for a shot, but the two got caught out of position and Grundy had to shoot.

Grundy, as Cross did early in the year, has made blunders with the ball late in close losses recently.

``Like coach says, you've got to make a play at the end of the game,'' said Grundy, who scored five of his seven points in the final 4 1-2 minutes. ``There's no time to be scared anymore.''

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