Crash Hits Home for Matadors
he fatal plane crash involving members of the Oklahoma State basketball team in Colorado on Saturday gave Northridge players and coaches something to ponder when they learned of the tragedy after their game at Montana.
Northridge athletic teams almost exclusively travel by commercial airlines, steering clear of small aircraft like the one chartered by Oklahoma State. But with an itinerary that includes traveling throughout mountainous terrain in the Big Sky Conference, journeying through inclement weather is a reality.
“I think about that stuff a lot,” center Brian Heinle said. “Not just with us, but with all the travel that goes on with athletes. I was in my room when one of the coaches came in and told me, and my heart just dropped.”
The experience prompted guard Carl Holmes, married for seven months, to purchase a life insurance policy after returning to town.
For Coach Bobby Braswell, the news stirred memories of a near-accident when he was an assistant at Oregon. While landing in San Francisco, the team’s plane was forced to make an evasive maneuver to avoid colliding with another plane on the runway, Braswell said.
“That was one time it was touch and go,” Braswell said. “But [flying] doesn’t bother me. I do it so much.”
*
Halfway though the Big Sky season, Heinle has made a strong case for being selected conference most valuable player.
Heinle notched his 11th double-double Saturday against Montana and had 17 rebounds, a Northridge Division I record, two nights earlier against Montana State.
Heinle, a 6-foot-9 senior, leads the Big Sky in scoring (20.8 points) and rebounding (8.9), and ranks seventh in the Big Sky in three-point percentage.
“I have a lot of expectations for myself,” Heinle said. “I knew I was going to be a focal part of this team.”
*
The Northridge softball team opens the season Saturday against UCLA in the San Jose tournament.
It is the first of five San Jose tournament games for the Matadors, who also play San Jose State and Cal Poly on Saturday. The Matadors play UCLA and San Jose on Sunday.
--VINCE KOWALICK
*
Talk about tough acts to follow.
Pepperdine has won eight in a row in men’s basketball and is 14-5 overall, 6-0 in West Coast Conference play.
Yet all the streak has done is enable the Waves to match last season’s record after 19 games and keep pace with conference rival Gonzaga (14-5, 6-0).
Not that mirroring last season is a bad thing. In their first season under Coach Jan van Breda Kolff, the Waves (25-9) won the WCC regular-season title and a first-round NCAA tournament game.
Pepperdine has serious flaws, such as the lack of a strong center and an experienced point guard, but lately the Waves have rode the lights-out scoring of Brandon Armstrong and leadership of seniors Kelvin Gibbs and David Lalazarian.
Armstrong, WCC player of the week twice in a row, is averaging 24.5 in WCC games and 21.5 overall.
Gibbs’ move from power forward to center sparked the winning streak and Lalazarian has overcome a sluggish start to average 14.3 points in WCC games.
“Kelvin gives us a strong scoring threat from the post and David has come off the bench to give us a spark,” van Breda Kolff said. “David is playing more at power forward since Kelvin moved to center and he is really comfortable there.”
*
Coming off the best season in school history, The Master’s baseball team must replace two All-American pitchers and an All-American catcher.
The Mustangs (37-15), third in the NAIA World Series, won a regional title.
Gone are top starters Mike Ploharz and Josh Higgins. Gone is catcher Mike Wertz.
But returning are three infielders and two outfielders who helped Master’s set a school record for victories.
Second baseman Luke Kollmann, All-American shortstop Ty Sager and third baseman Matt Herwaldt are veterans.
Andy Salazar, who batted .400 last season, and Jeremy Griffin return in the outfield.
Left-hander Ryan Pollard, change-of-speed specialist Brad Hackworth and Matt Berry are probably starters. Berry won 14 games in two seasons at Master’s, transferred to Texas A&M; last season and is back. Eric Glenn, a sophomore, will be the closer.
