Long Beach State University Athletics
Last Five Minutes Lead to Win Over CU
12/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
49ers Run Away from Cornell, 79-65
LONG BEACH, CA-- Long Beach State (4-6) used an 18-3 run late in the ballgame to propel them to a 79-65 win over visiting Cornell (4-7) to close out the 2005 calendar year. Kevin Houston, Jibril Hodges and Onye Ibekwe led five players in double figures with 12 points a piece, as LBSU closed out the game on a 24-6 run over the final five minutes, while shooting 63 percent in the second half. The 49ers shot 49 percent for the game, while Cornell hit for 45 percent. "Jibril didn't start and was pressing a little bit in the first half. We wanted the game to come to him, but he did other things in that first half--he defended well and got defensive rebounds, and he made other things happen," said Head Coach Larry Reynolds, of Hodges, who scored all 12 points in the second half. Lenny Collins led all scorers with 27 points, while Adam Gore hit for 20 points for CU. The duo combined for 11 of the 12 three-pointers for the game. CU hit 44 percent in the second frame. LBSU forced 29 turnovers and had seven blocks, including three by Aaron Nixon. The 49ers came roaring back, following a five-point deficit, with an 11-3 run, as a Nixon three followed immediately by a Kejuan Johnson steal and layup gave LBSU a 66-62 lead with 3:20 left. LBSU would never trail again. Hodges scored six straight for the 49ers to ignite the run tying the game at 61-61 with 4:08 left, following a three-pointer and three free throws. "They had us in the first half, in the second half, it was team effort," said Johnson, who finished with 11 points. "We pushed the ball more and forced turnovers, and that got us fastbreak points." The 49ers clawed back, tying the game at 50-50, off two Shawn Hawkins free throws with 10 minutes left, before Collins answered again with a jumper to give The Big Red a 57-52 lead with 6:42 left. An Andrew Naeve layup at 4:59 gave CU a 59-55 lead, prior to LBSU's run. In a back-and-forth second half, Mark Dawson's layup gave LBSU a 37-36 lead after four and a half minutes in the second half, before a Collins three gave Cornell a 44-40 lead with 13:56 left. Cornell edged The Beach 31-30 at the half, after the 49ers went on a 9-2 run to close out the first 20 minutes, following a 29-21 lead by CU. LBSU shot 38 percent, compared to 46 percentage by The Big Red. The 49ers also blocked four shots and caused 15 turnovers. The 49ers are next in action when they host UC Davis on January 2 at 7:30 p.m. They open up Big West play on January 7 when they travel to the Central Coast for two games, beginning at UC Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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