No time to cry
Men's basketball: Matadors lose at Pacific, win outright championship regardless
Alonso Tacanga / Sports Editor
Published: Sunday, March 8, 2009 in Daily Sundial
Stockton, Calif. -- A somber, quiet locker room full of long-faced Matadors went from mourning to rejoicing in a matter of seconds after four magical words were uttered Saturday night.
“Long Beach State lost,” someone said.
The disappointed Matadors (15-13, 11-5 Big West), who had just dropped a game for the ninth straight time at the Spanos Center against Pacific – 62-57 –, stopped feeling the sour taste of defeat for a few moments to savor the sweet flavor of being the outright Big West Conference champions and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. Long Beach State's (15-14, 10-6) loss at UC Santa Barbara (76-75 and at the buzzer of all things) gave Northridge a title despite its own shortcoming The Matadors got byes directly to the conference semifinals and will play the lowest of the seeds that will remain by Friday at the Anaheim Convention Center.
CSUN senior Rob Haynes had just heard the news also as he stepped out of the room and – even though he might have also wanted to join in on the clapping – showed perturbation at his teammates’ cheers.
“What are they doing in there?” he said frowning.
Celebration was inevitable for a group that was feeling like it blew a great chance. The Matadors led for most of the game but let the Tigers (17-11, 10-6) take it away from them in the waning moments. With the game tied at 55-55 with 1:14 to go, the Matadors allowed Pacific’s Bryan LeDuc to go to the basket for a clean layup opportunity. Not only did LeDuc put the ball in, he was fouled and made the subsequent free throw.
Haynes himself had a chance to even things up and give the Matadors a chance to not have a buzzer-beating 3-pointer 350 miles south decide their faith. His three-point try rattled in and out though. At the other end, Michael Kirby – who was remembered for having thrown in an incredible jumper with no time left to send a game CSUN should have won last season into an extra period (where Pacific won78-73) – made an unbelievable twisting layup over forward Tremaine Townsend to extend the Tigers lead to 60-55 with 19 seconds left. That was the game.
“We needed to get stops and we couldn’t get them,” Braswell said.
CSUN couldn’t get rebounds either. The Matadors were outrebounded 41-25. The Tigers shot a miserable 36 percent from the field, but their 10 extra shot opportunities made up for CSUN making 44 percent of its attempts. Townsend, the Big West’s rebounding leader, was not a happy camper about the stat.
“We got beat on the boards,” said a heated Townsend, who had seven points and seven rebounds. “We got out-toughed. That’s about it.”
Obviously, Townsend took it personal. After all, rebounding is his specialty, and so is the Matadors’. CSUN is, statistically, the best rebounding team in the Big West (averaging 37.7 per game). But not on Saturday night. Not at the Spanos Center, where they have lost every time they’ve visited. Townsend was there in 2008 when Kirby sunk his heart with the buzzer beater. So was Haynes. It was a moody situation: lost again to the guys in Stockton, but won an outright championship and got guaranteed post-Big West Tournament play.
“It’s how it’s been since I’ve been here,” said Haynes, who’s played and lost at the venue four times. “It always seems like we’re almost there. Tonight I had a shot, but I didn’t make it. The opportunities are there … I don’t know.”
CSUN was led in scoring by senior Rodrigue Mels, who had 13 points. It was senior night for Pacific, but almost none of the Tigers playing in their last home game roared loudly. Anthony Brown, Chad Troyer and Sam Willard combined to score just nine points. Kirby had 10, but was 1-of-7 before his game-wrapping layup. James Doran was the one with the sweetest goodbye. Doran, who came into the night averaging just six points per game, had 20. Eighteen of those came via 3-pointers, and not with lack of defense.
“He’s a shooter so I just had to put a hand in his face,” said Haynes, who had the unpleasant experience of seeing Doran rise up from behind the three-point line seven times and be successful in six. “I’ve never won a game here in four years. It hurts.”
It hurt Haynes, but CSUN’s assured of at least two more games. If the Matadors win the conference tournament, they’ll qualify for the NCAA Tournament. If they fail to do so, they will play in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
The thing that’s certain, for the relief of some, is that they will not face Pacific at the Spanos Center again until next season. The curse of Stockton will live on for another year.
“There’s no curse,” said Braswell, a non-believer. “I don’t believe in that stuff. I believe in playing hard basketball. The team that played harder won tonight.”
The same thing happened in Santa Barbara and, thanks to that, CSUN believes in the new opportunity. The Matadors, although not the way they were hoping, fulfilled everyone’s expectations: They’re No. 1.