CSUN downed by Cal State Bakersfield

The Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team will have to wait another year to end its Big West Conference Tournament drought.

The ninth-seeded Matadors couldn’t fight off Cal State Bakersfield in a firstround game and lost 5147 at Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada on Tuesday night.

Northridge hasn’t won a conference tournament game since advancing to the championship game in 2014.

“We’re building something. It’s not going to happen overnight. This is a very disappointed locker room because we don’t concern ourselves with everybody else’s expectations,” Northridge coach Trent Johnson said. “Obviously, we were picked to finish last in this league . ... We’re not in the cellar, you have to tip your cap to their ability to come out every night and compete.”

The eighth-seeded Roadrunners (11-21) ended the season for the Matadors for the second straight year and will play top-seeded UC Irvine (22-10) in a quarterfinal game on Thursday.

The final blow for Northridge came when Atin Wright missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 13 seconds left and then crumbled to the court after his follow through.

Wright, who came in averaging 17 points a game but finished with 10 on 3-for-17 shooting, had to be helped off the floor and sat straight-legged on the bench as the Matadors were unable to rally.

Northridge kept possession after Wright’s miss, but Cam Slaymaker missed a jump shot with six seconds remaining, the Roadrunners rebounded the ball and made a final free throw to seal the win.

“We’ve got some guys that were injured and that sort of took its toll, but you need to tip your cap to (Bakersfield),” Johnson said. “They competed at a high level and they made the necessary plays down the stretch to win the game.”

De’sean Allen-eikens scored 15 points to lead Northridge, which shot 31.8% from the floor and 3-for-16 from 3-point range.

Northridge didn’t win a game away from home all season.

The Matadors didn’t lead against Bakersfield until scoring the final five points of the first half to take a 26-24 advantage into the break.

Wright sank a 3 in transition to give Northridge a 31-27 lead, but the Matadors went the next 7:41 without a field goal and Bakersfield stayed close, despite shooting just 32.1% from the floor for the game.