Beach Plays Complete Game In Win Over Aggies
Morris Tallies 20 Points
January 12, 2008 | MEN'S BASKETBALL | 1 | 2 | FINAL | RECORDS | | UC Davis | 24 | 29 | 53 | 7-9, 1-2 | | Long Beach State | 34 | 37 | 71 | 4-11, 1-3 | Leading Scorers: LBSU: Donovan Morris 20; UCD: David Carter 15
Leading Rebounders: LBSU: Gallow/Plater 6; UCD: Mark Payne 7 | | BOX SCORE |
LONG BEACH— Freshman Greg Plater had a hot start for the 49ers and Donovan Morris scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as Long Beach State (4-11, 1-3 Big West) won its first Big West Conference game of the season, a 71-53 win over visiting UC Davis (7-9, 1-2 Big West).
Plater had 13 of his 18 points in the first half, while Brandon Johnson added a career-high 14 points for the 49ers. Long Beach shot 54.0 (27-50) from the field for the contest, their second consecutive game shooting .500 or better from the field. Plater was 7-of-10 from the floor and hit three of five three-pointers. Morris was a strong 8-of-12 from the field and Johnson was 6-of-8.
Johnson, whose previous high was nine points this season, scored his 14 points in 17 minutes of action while adding five rebounds.
The 49ers limited the Aggies to a .357 (15-42) field goal percentage, including a 32 percent clip (7-22) in the second half. David Carter led UCD with 15 points, Vince Oliver added 13 and Shane Hanson 10.
"I'm excited for our guys," said Head Coach Dan Monson. "I think we're getting a little bit better, slowly, and yet for the guys it's hard for them to believe that unless you can get rewarded a little bit, and this is a nice reward for them. Our goal was to keep them under 55. We started four guards and tried to get out to guys and match them a little bit better. I was really pleased with that end of the floor. I believe we still win this game even if we don't shoot the ball as well because our defensive intensity was good."
UC Davis briefly closed to within 36-30 with 17 minutes remaining, before an 8-0 run by the 49ers forced an Aggie timeout with 15:23 left after the 49ers extended the lead to 44-30. Morris ignited the rally with the first six points as the run would extend to 18-5 with 11 minutes remaining and put the contest out of reach.
The 49ers led by has many as 14 points in the first half, posting a 34-24 lead at the break. LBSU shot 52 percent led by Plater's 13 points. Plater had 11 of the 49ers first 16 points as The Beach hit their first five shots and were 6-of-7 to start the game, leading 16-8 with 14:42 remaining. The 49er defense was also solid, forcing a shot clock violation and another turnover with one second remaining on the shot clock over the first 10 minutes.
Cornel Williams was the fourth 49er in double digits with 13 points and the 49ers out-rebounded the Aggies 31-20. Plater and guard Brice Gallow both grabbed six rebounds to pace The Beach on the boards. Plater, Morris and Darnell Porter all contributed four assists as the 49ers had 17 assists on its 27 made field goals.
The 49ers travel to UC Riverside for a contest next Saturday at 7 p.m. |
