Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
5-16, 2-7BWC
UC Davis
8-14, 2-7BWC
49er Defense Wins game
2/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Defense Lifts 49ers To Victory
Morris Scores 26 Points
February 7, 2008
| MEN'S BASKETBALL | 1 | 2 | OT | FINAL | RECORDS |
| Long Beach State | 32 | 31 | - | 63 | 5-16, 2-7 |
| UC Davis | 17 | 35 | - | 52 | 8-14, 2-7 |
| Leading Scorers: LBSU: Donovan Morris 26; UCD: David Carter 17 Leading Rebounders: LBSU: Donovan Morris 9; UCD: Shane Hanson 9 | |||||
| BOX SCORE | |||||
DAVIS -- Defense was the key on Thursday evening as Long Beach State defeated UC Davis 63-52 in a Big West Conference game at The Pavilion. Donovan Morris led the way with 26 points as the 49ers improved to 5-16 overall and 2-7 in the Big west. UC Davis fell to 8-14 and 2-7 in league action.
The 49ers forced 16 Aggies turnovers in the game and limited UC Davis to 3-of-18 shooting from three-point range. Brandon Johnson added eight points for the 49ers and Cornel Williams and Brian Freeman each scored six points. Long Beach out-rebounded the Aggies 33-to-23 as Morris finished with nine boards and Johnson and Maurice Clady grabbing five each. The 49ers finished with 15 assists on 22 made baskets, as Clady and Brice Gallow each dished out three assists.
David Carter led UC Davis with 17 points and Vince Oliver, the Aggies leading scorer, added 10. UC Davis shot .422 (19-45) from the field for the game and were 11-14 at the free throw line.
"UC Davis is a very dangerous team and I'm just proud of our guys," said Head Coach Dan Monson. "Our guys, defensively, were really focused in the first half and that set the tone."
The first half was all Long Beach State as the 49ers forced 11 UC Davis turnovers while shooting .529 (9-17) from the field to take a 32-17 lead into the lockerroom. Morris had 16 first half points as the 49ers repeatedly attacked the Aggie defense, heading to the free throw line 15 times, hitting 12. Long Beach also owned the boards, out-rebounding the Aggies 15-to-8 in the opening stanza. Johnson, who had a career-high 14 points in the first meeting with the Aggies, had six points and four rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Long Beach jumped to an 11-0 lead in the opening 7:30 of the game. In their first 10 possessions, UC Davis had six turnovers and were 0-4 from the field. The 49ers opened up a 15-2 lead at 11:21 on two free throws by Brice Gallow, but the Aggies used a 9-3 run to pull within 18-11 with 6:12 remaining. Long Beach countered with six straight points to push the lead to double digits again at 24-11. The 49ers out-scored the Aggies 14-6 over the final six minutes of the half.
In the second half the 49ers scored the first four points to push the lead to 36-17. Brian Freeman made his presence felt in the half scoring six of the 49ers first 14 points of the stanza. His three-point play at 14:20 game Long Beach a 46-25 lead. The Aggies used an 8-0 run to cut a 53-33 deficit to 53-41 with 7:14 left, but would get not closer than 11 points (56-45 at 4:52) the remainder of the contest.
The 49ers continue their Northern California trip on Saturday as they play at the University of the Pacific. Tip-off is 7 pm at the Spanos Center.
