NAU OUSTS CSUN; MATADORS AMBUSHED BY LUMBERJACKS, FANS : NAU 86, CSUN 79.

Byline: Marc J. Spears Daily News Staff Writer

There would be no deja vu occurrence or possible Cinderella story this time for the Cal State Northridge men's basketball team at the Big Sky Conference Tournament.

Instead, the sixth-seeded Matadors have plenty of time to think about their season's end here after falling 86-79 to top-seeded Northern Arizona on Friday night, because Highway 17 south to the Phoenix airport is a five-hour drive.

The odds were against the Matadors from the beginning of the tourney, as they were seeded last. After surprising third-seeded Eastern Washington in the opening round, CSUN earned a game against a Lumberjack team that had beaten it twice previously this season and was in the midst of a seven-game winning streak.

And there was also an intimidating crowd of 3,085 Northern Arizona enthusiasts at the Walkup Skydome. Fans who wanted revenge from last season's debacle, when the then sixth-seed Matadors knocked the Lumberjacks team out of the conference tournament in the second round of the tourney here.

In the end, the Matadors had a 12-16 record, a respectable finish and thoughts of what could have been. As for the Big Sky regular season champion Lumberjacks (21-7), they advanced to the championship with hopes of earning their first-ever automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

CSUN's season opened with high and realistic expectations of a Big Sky Championship and a first-ever Division-I NCAA Tournament berth. But those hopes were marred by injuries and several off-the-court problems. Injuries to the likes of talented freshman guard Markus Carr (knee), who was gone before the season, and a fractured right foot mid-way to guard and team leader Derrick Higgins also hurt.

Problems away from the court brought many player suspensions before and during the season and caused inside dominating post player Jabari Simmons (personal reasons) and struggling forward Brian Hagens (academics) to leave the team during conference play.

CSUN freshman guard Carl Holmes led his team with 26 points. Senior forward Mike O'Quinn had 22 points and had a combined 61 in two games (39 against Eastern Washington).

The frustrated Matadors also had three technicals and a Big Sky tournament-record 35 fouls against Northern Arizona. They entered the contest with only four on the season.

By the 11:45 mark in the first half, the Matadors were down 30-19 and seemingly in trouble as the Lumberjack faithful roared in appreciation. But CSUN calmed the crowd by finishing the half with a 13-4 run that trimmed Northern Arizona's lead to 34-32 at the half.

CSUN shot 54.5 percent in the first half (12 of 22) but made just 4 of 12 3-point attempts. O'Quinn, who had 19 first half points against Eastern Washington, and Holmes both had 12 points in the opening half. The Matadors' biggest problem was stopping 7-foot Dan McClintock, who made all five of his shots in the opening half and had 11 points.

With 18:27 remaining in the game, Northridge tied it at 37-37 on a short jumper by Trenton Cross. But the Lumberjacks regrouped for a huge 16-4 run, including six points from McClintock, to take a 53-41 lead with 13:25 left.

With 5:12 remaining, CSUN's Greg Minor hit a jumper to trim his team's deficit to 69-60. But 11 seconds later, the roof collapsed on Northridge's season. After Matador forward Jeffrey Parris was hit with his fifth foul, Minor was slapped with a technical for throwing a fake pass at a startled Northern Arizona cheerleader.

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PHOTO Cal State Northridge's Mike O'Quinn (24) drives to the basket during the Matadors' season-ending loss to top-seeded Northern Arizona.

Pete Scanlon/Associated Press