Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
6-20, 3-9BWC
NM State
16-12, 9-3WAC
49ers Fall At New Mexico State
2/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2008
LAS CRUCES, NM - New Mexico State proved to be too much for the 49ers on Saturday evening as the Aggies defeated Long Beach State 80-48 at the Pan American Center. NMSU improved to 16-12 with the victory, while the 49ers fell to 6-20. Cornel Williams led the 49ers with 10 points.
Greg Plater and Donovan Morris both had nine points for Long Beach State and freshman Lauren Heard had a career-high eight points off the bench. Morris had scored in double figures in 24 consecutive games, but his nine points were his second-lowest total of the season. The 49ers shot just .274 (17-62) from the field and were 5-20 from three-point range.
The Aggies were led by Herb Pope who had 14 points. Justin Hawkins added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Wendell McKines was the third Aggie in double digits with 10 points. NMSU shot .492 (31-63) from the field for the game and out-rebounded the 49ers 55-to-26. The Aggies had 16 offensive rebounds in the contest.
New Mexico State came out strong in the second half. The Aggies hit the offensive boards hard, recording numerous second chance points. NMSU used a 14-5 run in the opening four minutes of the half to push their lead to 47-22.
The 49ers began the game with great defensive intensity, allowing the Aggies just nine points in the first nine-plus minutes of the game. The problem for the 49ers was they were not able to get their offense in gear. Long Beach didn't score its first points of the game until the 10:21 mark on a Morris field goal. At that point NMSU only led 9-2. The 49ers missed their first 14 field goal attempts. Trailing 15-3, the 49ers got the margin to single digits with a 7-3 run, pulling to within 18-10 with 5:49 remaining on a Williams field goal. The Aggies countered with an 11-2 run over the next 3:07 to take a 29-12 lead. NMSU shot .571 (12-21) from the field in the half, but the 49ers forced 14 Aggie turnovers. The 49ers were just 7-of-29 (.241) from the field and were out-rebounded 21-to-12.
The 49ers will next be in action on Thursday, February 30 when they play at UC Irvine at 7:30 pm in the Bren Events Center.
