Gomez has career night, CSU Northridge wins Big West opener

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Terrell Gomez scored a career-high 32 points, missed a pair of free throws with five seconds left in a one-point game but wrapped up a last-second miss and CSU Northridge held on to defeat UC Riverside 84-83 Wednesday night.

Gomez shot 11-for-17 from the floor, making six 3-pointers in nine tries from distance and three steals. Lamine Diane added 21 points for Northridge (7-10, 1-0 Big West Conference) with eight rebounds and seven assists. Rodney Henderson Jr. scored 16 with eight boards and two steals.

The Matadors trailed by seven at the half, but Diane cut the score to 42-40 with a layup and hit a free throw for a 48-47 lead with just under 15 minutes to play. He then scored seven points, sparking an 11-2 run and CSUN held on for the last 10 minutes.

Dikymbe Martin scored 25 to lead Riverside (6-11, 0-1) but missed a 3-pointer as time was running out. Menno Dijkstra added 14 points.