Northridge Wins, 75-73, on Last Shot by Cross

With 30 seconds left, the score tied and a share of a conference championship hanging in the balance, Cal State Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy did a curious thing Wednesday night.

He put the ball in the hands of Trenton Cross, the Matadors’ only true freshman, and gave him a short set of instructions.

“Make the play,” Cassidy said.

Cross did exactly that.

For 20 seconds he dribbled with a defender in hot pursuit, then he darted into the key and banked an off-balance shot off the glass to give Northridge a 75-73 American West Conference victory over Cal State Sacramento.

The win gave Northridge an overall record of 7-16, but more importantly improved the Matadors’ conference mark to 4-1 and kept them one game back of league-leading Southern Utah.

Northridge can earn a share of the inaugural American West title by defeating Southern Utah on Saturday at Northridge.

“Forget everything that’s happened in the past,” Cassidy said. “Our season is one game right now.”

And for that Northridge can thank Cross, who this time last season was helping Reseda High win.

“I remember winning a game against Kennedy by making free throws with no time left,” Cross said. “Mostly we blew people out.”

Against Sacramento (6-18, 2-3), Cross came off the bench to score 15 points in 21 minutes, including nine of Northridge’s last 13 points and 12 of the Matadors’ final 21.

Northridge center Peter Micelli came off the bench to score a season-high 21 points in 22 minutes.