GAMES ARE HAIRY MINUS LARRY; CSUN NICKS ISU DESPITE LOSS OF SPARK CSUN 79, IDAHO ST. 77.

Byline: Chris Branam Staff Writer

For almost a week, as they traveled to different cities in different time zones, the Cal State Northridge men's basketball players missed Andre Larry.

He was their teammate and their friend. His sudden departure for personal reasons created a somber mood, made even worse by an embarrassing 21-point loss at Weber State.

Now, after CSUN edged Idaho State 79-77 Thursday night at Matador Gym, they know what life will be like without Larry.

``We're going to miss (Larry) every time we step out on the court,'' said junior center Brian Heinle, who continued his scoring surge with a team-high 26 points. ``It's a big loss for our club. Games are going to be like this now. Hopefully we can maintain our edge.''

Larry not only was CSUN's second-leading scorer when he quit; he seemed to rise to the occasion when Northridge needed him. He made the winning basket in Northridge's upset of Oregon in December and just recently, he had a huge second half in CSUN's 10-point home win over Montana State.

The Matadors, who improved to 6-3 in the Big Sky and 14-6 overall, were without a spark as Idaho State stayed close. They didn't breathe easy until reserve guard Marco McCain made two free throws with 12.9 seconds left to give CSUN a 79-75 lead.

ISU (6-14, 1-8) cut the lead to two on Stephen Brown's two free throws with five seconds left. But Northridge inbounded the ball and avoided a foul to get its 10th consecutive home win.

``We did what we needed to do at the end of the game,'' CSUN coach Bobby Braswell said. ``We played great defense. Marco stepped up to the free throw line and made two big free throws. At the end of the season, all that matters is we got the win.''

CSUN is within percentage points of first in the Big Sky standings, trailing Eastern Washington (5-2) and tied with Weber State (6-3).

Northridge only plays one game - at Northern Arizona (10-9, 4-4) - in the next two weeks.

``We need the break right now,'' Braswell said. ``Our guys need a rest. They need to get their legs back.''

That seemed apparent Thursday night. The Bengals, who were blown out 101-86 by Northridge at home on Jan. 8, fought back from a 14-point deficit (57-43) in the second half and actually took a lead with 2 1/2 minutes left.

ISU seemed inspired by a technical foul on coach Doug Oliver with 14:28 left. Heinle appeared to travel and palm the ball in the same motion on a pass to Jeff Parris that ended in a fastbreak dunk and a 55-43 Matadors lead.

Oliver hopped up and down and finally got the technical he wanted. McCain made both free throws.

The Bengals clawed back into it and a 10-2 run cut CSUN's lead to 63-58 with 7:53 left. With 3 1/2 minutes left, the Bengals took their first lead, 71-70 on Kevin Sweetwyne's driving layup.

Heinle had 12 rebounds to go with his points; he made nine of 17 shots in 34 minutes. Parris had 15 points in only 21 minutes.

``We know people are going to step up.'' CSUN guard Markus Carr said.