Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
6-21 (3-10)
UC Irvine
13-14 (7-6)
49ers Drop Tough One At UC Irvine
2/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2008
IRVINE, Calif. - Donovan Morris scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, but UC Irvine pulled away in the final minute to earn a 64-57 Big West Conference victory over Long Beach State on Thursday evening. The 49ers fell to 6-21 on the season and 3-10 in the Big West. The Anteaters improved to 13-14 overall and 7-6 in the Big West.
Cornel Williams had a career-high 19 points for the 49ers and earned his first double-double of the season by adding 11 rebounds. Greg Plater had seven points and Arturas Lazdauskas four. The 49ers shot .465 (20-43) for the game and were 7-19 from three-point range. Long Beach also had just 12 turnovers on the evening compared to 13 assists. Maurice Clady led the 49ers with a career-high tying seven assists.
UC Irvine got 23 points from Patrick Sanders while guard Michael Hunter added 15. Sanders scored UCI's final 11 points of the game. Sanders' three-pointer at 3:59 gave UCI a 56-55 lead, a lead it would not relinquish. The 49ers scored just two points over the final four minutes of the game. UCI shot .609 (14-23) from the field in the second half and ended up out-rebounding the 49ers 27-to-25. UCI also had just five turnovers in the contest.
The second half was full of runs by both teams. The 49ers used an 8-2 run to expand a 29-28 lead to 37-30 with 15:57 remaining. Back-to-back three's by Morris keyed the run. UCI came right back with a 15-2 run to take a 45-40 lead with 10:23 left. The 49ers had one more run in them. Down 53-47 at the 6:33 mark, Long Beach went on an 8-0 run to take a 55-53 lead with 4:22 remaining. Morris capped the run with his fifth three-pointer of the second half.
The 49ers took a 24-22 lead into the lockerroom thanks to some outstanding defense. Long Beach limited the Anteaters to a .333 (9-27) field goal percentage in the first half and held their own on the backboards as both teams had 14 first half rebounds. The 49ers used a 12-4 run to turn a 13-10 deficit at 13:29 into a 22-17 lead with 6:07 left in the half. Long Beach hit seven of its first 10 shots from the field and Williams tallied 10 first half points while adding six rebounds. At one point Williams scored seven consecutive points for the 49ers, with his final field goal in that stretch giving Long Beach its first lead of the game, 17-15 at the 11:14 mark. The 49ers shot .471 (8-17) in the half and were six-of-seven at the free throw line.
The 49ers continue on the road in Orange County this weekend as they play at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday evening at 6 pm.
