MIRACLE MATADORS WIN : LAST SEED SPROUTS NCAA HOPES CSUN 93 NO. ARIZ. 84.Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer A miraculous finish to an incredible Cal State Northridge season is one game, one win away from fruition. The Matadors saw to that by stunning No. 1-seeded and host Northern Arizona Northern Arizona is dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the southern border of which in Arizona is called the Mogollon Rim. In the West lies the Grand Canyon, which was cut by the flow of the Colorado River while the land slowly rose around it. Friday night in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament, storming down the stretch to steal - literally - a 93-84 victory. That means CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge , a .500 team (14-14) and the sixth and last seed in this event, will meet Montana tonight at Northern Arizona in the Big Sky Tournament final - the winner of that game gets a free pass into the NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if it's a milestone, but who would have picked little Northridge to be in the Big Sky final (tonight)?'' CSUN coach Bobby Braswell Bobby Braswell, an American basketball coach, is currently the head coach for Cal State Northridge. Braswell was named the fourth head coach in Northridge history on April 30, 1996, succeeding the retired Pete Cassidy. said when it was over. Who indeed? All the more so in the closing minutes of this one. Northridge, down 11 points (74-63) with seven minutes to play and deep into foul trouble, began chipping at Northern Arizona's lead and pulled within 80-74. Then the Matadors, who ignored their foul concerns and began hawking the ball, repeatedly turned steals into breakaways - three in a row in one key stretch. ``At that point,'' said guard Trenton Cross, ``we were in foul trouble, but we knew we couldn't let up. There was no tomorrow.'' There is now. With 2-1/2 minutes left and facing a four-point deficit (80-76), Keith Higgins Keith Higgins is a Gaelic football player for Mayo. He plays his club football for Ballyhaunis. In 2006, he was award the Young Player of the year. He is currently injured and ruled out of the 2007 championship.[1] stole the ball from Michael McNair and drove in for a layup. Cross promptly matched the feat, tying the game at 80-80. Then it was Derrick Higgins' turn for still another. It proved to be the catalyst for a 14-0 CSUN run in the final minutes. ``I told our guys at halftime, `Don't worry about fouls. Play our game,' '' said Braswell, who saw his team collect 30 fouls on the night - with eight players finishing with three or more. ``Our game is to be scrappy because we're not very big. We put pressure on, deny passes, try to get them out of their rhythm.'' The tactics worked to an extreme. The Lumberjacks turned the ball over 22 times; 13 of those came on steals. Northern Arizona was so unnerved by CSUN's frenetic manner and furious comeback, in fact, that it committed a colossal blunder at a key juncture. With Northridge up 82-80 with a minute to play, the Lumberjacks' Billy Hix, facing an inbound violation near his own bench, attempted to call time out. But his team was out of timeouts and Hix was called for a technical foul technical foul n. Sports A foul, especially in basketball, that is called on a player, coach, or team for unsportsmanlike conduct or infringement of a rule and does not usually involve physical contact with an opponent during play. . Northridge's Cross converted both free throws to push the lead to 84-80 with 59 seconds left. And CSUN, as Northern Arizona was forced to foul the rest of the way, outscored its opponent 10-4 in that final minute. ``He called that timeout,'' Keith Higgins said of Hix, ``and that kind of put a nail in the coffin.'' Northridge, forced into liberal use of its bench because of the quickly mounting fouls, wound up with six players in double figures. Derrick Higgins led the way with 17 points, followed by brother Keith (15), Rod Stinson (14), Cross and Lucky Grundy (13 each) and Gerald Rhoden (12). Northern Arizona (21-6), which likely will receive a spot in the National Invitation Tournament, was led by Andrew Mavis' 19 points. ``I told them, `Stick to our game,' '' Braswell added. ``I'm so proud of these guys. They were down 11. They could have easily given up.'' TONIGHT'S GAME Matchup: Cal State Northridge (14-14) vs. Montana (20-10). What: Big Sky tournament championship game. When: 6:05 p.m. PST PST Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, see there at Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public university in Flagstaff, Arizona in the United States. As of Fall 2007, the university has 21,352 students, 13,989 of these are situated in the main Flagstaff campus<ref name="Enrollment" />. in Flagstaff Flagstaff, city (1990 pop. 45,857), seat of Coconino co., N Ariz., near the San Francisco Peaks; inc. 1894. Lumbering, ranching, and a lively tourist trade thrive in the region, where many ruined pueblos, numerous state parks, several lakes, and large pine forests , Ariz. TV/Radio: ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network , delayed at 9:30 p.m. At stake: The winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. CSUN vs. MONTANA Tipoff: 6:05 p.m. PST, at Northern Arizona University. TV/Radio: ESPN (delayed, 9:30 p.m.). CSUN (14-14, 10-8 Big Sky) update: The Matadors, despite being seeded sixth - and last - have knocked off Montana State and top-seeded Northern Arizona to rise to the tournament championship game. They'll face No. 2 seed Montana, which swept them during the conference season, 76-62 at Missoula and 78-75 at Northridge. Montana (20-10, 12-5) update: The Grizzlies The name Grizzlies may refer to:
CAPTION(S): 3 Boxes Box: (1) TONIGHT'S GAME (See Text) (2) MARCH MADNESS March Madness may refer to:
(3) CSUN vs. MONTANA (See Text) |
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