Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Beat San Jose State
12/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
49ers Defeat San Jose State
Four Players Hit Double Digits
December 17, 2006
| MEN'S BASKETBALL | 1 | 2 | FINAL | RECORDS |
| Long Beach State | 35 | 41 | 76 | 6-4 |
| San Jose State | 29 | 38 | 67 | 1-9 |
| Leading Scorers: LBSU: Kejuan Johnson 20; SJSU: Menelik Barbary 18 Leading Rebounders: LBSU: Louis Darby 6; SJSU: Devon Thomas 10 | ||||
| BOX SCORE | ||||
SAN JOSE,CA-- Long Beach State saw four players score in double digits on Sunday en route to a 76-67 road win at San Jose State on Sunday afternoon. Kejuan Johnson scored a season-high 20 points and Sterling Byrd added 16 to lead The Beach. The 49ers won their fourth consecutive game and improved to 6-4 on the season. The 20 points by Johnson tied his career-high. The Spartans were led by Menelik Barbary's career-high tying 18 points and fell to 1-9.
Aaron Nixon added 15 points and Kevin Houston 14 points and six assists to key the offense. Long Beach shot .404 (23-57) from the field for the game and out-rebounded the Spartans 38-32. Louis Darby led the 49ers with six rebounds while Noxon added five.
"I thought we came out and opened the second half real well," said 49er Head Coach Larry Reynolds. "We didn't shoot the ball very well in the first half. I think we got a little lethargic in the second half and they pulled it to within five points. We did a better job controlling their big kid (Barbara) in the second half. I was happy with our rebounding effort, except on missed free throw's."
The 49ers jumped on the Spartans coming out of the lockerroom using a 13-2 run to open the half, expanding a 35-29 lead to 48-31 with 16:40 left. The Spartans hung tough though and pulled to within 61-56 with 5:21 remaining, but the 49ers were able to hold on.
Devon Thomas added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans while Jamon Hill added 12 points. The Spartans shot .453 (24-53) from the field for the contest.
Johnson scored 13 of his 20 in the second half, including hitting two three-pointers in the 49ers opening run to begin the half. He was also 8-8 at the free throw line as Long Beach connected on 22-31 (.710) of its free throw attempts. Long Beach forced 20 Spartan turnovers and recorded nine steals in the contest. Johnson had four steals for The Beach.
"I thought we played well defensively," said Johnson. "In the second half we knocked downa few shots and played solid defense. We just wanted to come out and play hard and come out of here with a win."
The 49ers used a late run in the first half to take a 35-29 halftime lead. Trailing 20-15 at 7:42, Long Beach went on a 17-3 run to take a 32-23 lead at 3:27. Nixon had six points in that span and Byrd knocked down two three's. Long Beach shot just .324 (11-34) from the field in the opening stanza, including missing its first eight three-pointers. But the 49er defense was strong, forcing 13 first half Spartan turnovers. The 49ers had seven steals in the half, including three by Johnson. Byrd tallied 11 first half points, Nixon eight and Houston had four assists..
The 49ers will next be in action on Friday, December 22 when they play at Loyola Marymount. Tip-off is set for 7 pm at Gersten Pavilion.
