Sacramento State Defeats 49ers, 73-51
Roberts Finishes With 13 Points and 13 Rebounds
December 27, 2003
SACRAMENTO, CA-- Sacramento State out-scored Long Beach State 27-10 over the final 11:17 of the game to come away with a 73-51 victory on Saturday evening in Sacramento. The Hornets (5-6) were led by Joel Jones' 21 points and 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench from Cedric Thompkins. LBSU (2-6) got 13 points and 13 rebounds from senior Kevin Roberts, his third consecutive double-double.
Long Beach, which trailed the entire game, pulled to within 46-41 at the 12:12 mark and had a chance to cut the deficit to three, but Jibril Hodges missed two free throws at the 11:34 mark. Sacramento State would then go on an 8-0 run over the next 3:01 to take a 54-41 lead at the 8:33 mark. It was all Hornets the remainder of the contest. The 49ers shot just 10-32 (.313) from the field in the second half, including 1-9 from three-point range.
The 49ers could never get on track, starting with the opening tip. The Hornets raced to a 13-2 lead in the first four-plus minutes, prompting 49er head coach Larry Reynolds to pull all five of his starters. The second five kept the 49ers in the game over the next few minutes as The Beach pulled to within 20-12 at the 10:37 mark on a three-point play by Antoine Jackson. A Louis Darby steal and dunk cut the deficit to four, 33-29, with just 25 second left in the half, but Jones canned a long three-pointer just before the buzzer to give Sacramento State a 36-29 halftime lead. Jones had 14 first half points for the Hornets.
In the second half the 49ers got to within four points, 38-34, at the 17:35 mark after a Roberts bucket, but would get no closer than five points the remainder of the game.
Darby finished with seven points, Cody Pearson four points and eight rebounds and Mark Bowens added five for the 49ers.
The 49ers were out-rebounded 43-39, were just 3-10 at the free throw line and had twice as many tournovers as assists (16 to 8). LBSU also shot just .367 (22-60) overall from the field. The Hornets had just 10 turnovers and were 12-16 (.750) at the charity stripe. CSUS also grabbed 18 offensive rebounds in the game, with Thompkins snaring seven.
The 49ers will next be in action on Tuesday, December 30 when they host Colgate at 7:35 pm in The Pyramid.
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