49ers Drop Tough One To Pacific
Morris Scores Career-High 32 Points
January 10, 2008 | MEN'S BASKETBALL | 1 | 2 | FINAL | RECORDS | | Pacific | 33 | 50 | 83 | 11-4, 2-0 | | Long Beach State | 32 | 45 | 77 | 3-11, 0-3 | Leading Scorers: LBSU-Donovan Morris 32; UOP-Steffan Johnson 19
Leading Rebounders: LBSU-Darnell Porter 7; UOP-Anthony Brown 10 | | BOX SCORE |
LONG BEACH— Long Beach State (3-11, 0-3 Big West) nearly overcame a dry spell of six and a half minutes without a basket, only to fall to Pacific (11-4, 2-0 Big West) 83-77 on Thursday evening at the Walter Pyramid. LBSU had cut the lead to two points with 10 seconds remaining, but could get no closer, posting their second-best shooting percentage of the season.
Donovan Morris had a career-high 32 points for the 49ers, who shot 53 percent for the contest. Morris was 10-of-16 from the field, including a 4-of-6 mark from beyond the arc. Darnell Porter added 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds while Cornel Williams was the third 49er in double digits with 11 points.
Steffan Johnson had 19 points to lead the Tigers, one of five players in double figures. Pacific shot 46 percent from the field and were 23-of-31 at the free throw line. Michael Nunnally added 14 points and Anthony Brown had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
"I thought we did some things better tonight, but we have to get more consistent," said 49er Head Coach Dan Monson. "We have to be a better basketball team because these teams are a little bit better than us right now. They are more consistent down the stretch and more experienced and we have to be a team that can make plays in the gut of it to take ahold of games. We're there, but when they needed a play they got the offensive rebound or got the ball to the right guy. We've got to keep grinding to get ourselves better."
Long Beach State, who trailed by as many as 14 points, closed to within 79-77 on a Morris three-pointer with 10.6 seconds remaining after Maurice Clady kept the 49ers in the contest with a layup with 25 seconds left and two free throws to cut the deficit to 78-74. Bryan LeDuc then made 1-of-2 free throws, before Morris' three cut the lead to two.
Johnson though converted the next two free throws for the Tigers, making it 81-77, as the 49ers missed a quick three-pointer and the Tigers hit two more free throws to finish it off.
Morris had earlier got the 49ers that much closer, as his jumper with 2:48 remaining made it 66-62 and his two free throws cut the lead to 61-57 with 5:11 remaining.
LBSU had erased the double digit lead thanks to a 12-4 run, making it 58-52 on another Morris three-pointer with eight minutes remaining. That jumper with 8:10 left forced a Pacific timeout. Three minutes earlier, the Tigers had jumped up 54-40, paced by a 20-2 run, erasing the final lead for the 49ers, at four points.
Chad Troyer's three at the buzzer made gave the Tigers a 33-32 lead at the half, after Maurice Cleady's two free throws with 32 seconds left gave the 49ers a 32-30 lead. LBSU shot 48 percent in an evenly played half, compare to a 43 percent clip by the Tigers as Johnson hit three first half three-pointers for 11 points. In an indication of a very even first half, Pacific went up 26-21 with 4:49 left with five consecutive points, before the 49ers own 5-0 run tied it up at 26-26 a minute later.
The 49ers host UC Davis on Saturday at 4 p.m., while the Tigers travel CS Northridge.
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