Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Defeat Titans 94-84
2/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
49ers Win Fifth in a Row Following 94-84 Win
FULLERTON, CA-- Long Beach State (18-6, 9-2 Big West) tied its win total from last year and moved to a game and a half in front in the Big West standings following a 94-84 victory at second place CS Fullerton (18-6, 8-4 Big West). The win, the 49ers fifth in a row, was paced by five players in double figures, led by 19 points from Kejuan Johnson and 18 points and eight rebounds from Aaron Nixon. The 49ers, who scored 90 points for the seventh time this year, went on 17-6 run over a six -stretch in the second half, holding the Titans without a field goal and extending the lead from 58-49 to 75-55 at the 10 minute mark. LBSU led from wire to wire, pushing a four-point halftime lead to as many as 20. "I think our guys have done a good job of taking it one game at a time this year," said Head Coach Larry Reynolds. "I thought our guys were real comfortable offensively tonight. We wanted to make a difference defensively, and that got us some easy baskets at the other end." The Beach shot 48 percent for the game, holding the Titans to a 41 percent clip, despite 36 pionts from Titan guard Bobby Brown. Scott Cutley added 15 points and 11 rebounds for CSF, whose 15-game home winning streak was snapped by the 49ers tonight. The Titans used a 21-9 run to get back in the game late, closing to within 84-76 with 2:18 left. Sterling Byrd added 17 points, while Mark Dawson added 10 points and six rebounds off the bench, grabbing five offensive rebounds. Dominique Ricks was the fifth 49er in double digits with 10 points. The 49ers shot .517 (15-29) from the field in the second half and connected of 10-of-13 free throws in the final 1:19 of the game. Fullerton, which shot .517 from the field in the opening half, connected on just 14-of-41 shots (.341) in the second half. The 49ers began the game jumping to a quick 17-4 lead in the opening seven minutes and expanded it to 21-7 at the 11:52 mark. The Titans committed seven turnovers in the opening 4:30 of the contest, which aided the 49er advantage. Fullerton eventually pulled back into the game, drawing to within two points (39-37) after a Brown three-pointer with 51 seconds left. The 49ers scored the final bucket of the half on a Dawson tip to lead 41-37. Johnson had nine first half points for the 49ers, while Dawson added eight and Nixon and Byrd tallied seven each. Brown, who didn't score until the 8:44 mark of the half for Fullerton, finished the half with 16 points. He scored 16 of the Titans final 24 points of the half. Long Beach shot .447 (17-38) in the opening stanza, but were just 2-10 from three-point range. The Titans shot an impressive .517 (15-29) overall, but had 12 first half turnovers and were out-rebounded 21-to-16. The 49ers will next be in action on Saturday, February 17 when they host the University of Hawai'i at 7:05 pm in the Walter Pyramid in an ESPNU Bracket Busters contest. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
