March 1, 2003 SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA-- Varnie Dennis had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead Cal Poly (13-12 / 9-7 Big West) to a 76-64 win over Long Beach State (5-21 / 4-13) on Saturday night in Mott Gym in a Big West Conference men's basketball game. Shane Schilling added 16 points and Eric Jackson had 19 points off the bench for the Mustangs. Tony Darden led the 49ers with 23 points. In a game marred by fouls, 44 total between the two teams, Cal Poly was able to hold off a 49er charge in the second half. Trailing 56-44 at the 8:44 mark after a Jackson three-pointer, the 49ers scored six straight to pull to within 56-50 at 6:44. Alex Graham, who finished with six points and four rebounds on the evening, had four points during that run. Long Beach trailed 62-55 at the 4:44 mark after a Darden three-pointer, but Cal Poly would convert on two 49er turnovers and go on a mini 5-0 run to take a 67-55 lead at 4:01. Long Beach got no closer than nine points the remainder of the game. Both teams spent a lot of time at the free throw line. Cal Poly was 25-32 (.781) at the charity stripe while the 49ers were 20-28 (.714), including 16-22 in the second half. The 49ers hurt themselves by committing 22 turnovers and shooting just .400 (20-50) from the field. Cal Poly shot just .390 (23-59) from the field, but hit five more free throws than the 49ers. Darden was 4-9 from three-point range on the night and ended up breaking the 49er single season record for three-pointers made in a season. Darden, now with 75 made three's this season, broke the old three-point mark of 73 set by Lucious Harris in 1992-93. Darden is still fourth on the 49er career chart with 135 made three's. Vance Lawhorn finished with 16 points and six rebounds, while Kevin Roberts had 10 points and five boards. The 49ers had just six points off the bench, with all six coming from Graham. With the loss the 49ers were officially eliminated from the Big West Conference Tournament. The 49ers close out their season on March 8 when they play at UC Irvine. BOX SCORE
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