Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
(6-25Overall)
UC Irvine
(16-15Overall)
Long Beach's Season Ends At The Hands Of Irvine
3/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 12, 2008
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Donovan Morris tallied 25 points and Greg Plater had 17, but the season came to an end for the Long Beach State men's basketball team as they fell in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament to UC Irvine, 77-63, at the Anaheim Convention Center. The 49ers end the season at 6-25, while UCI advances to Thursday's quarterfinals with a 16-15 mark.
Morris played all 40 minutes in the contest and knocked down five three-pointers, but he couldn't carry the 49ers back from a 16-point halftime deficit. The 49ers hit 10 three-pointers in the contest and shot a respectable .479 (23-48) from the field. Cornel Williams was the third 49er in double digits with 12 points. Long Beach had just 12 turnovers in the contest while dishing out 17 assists on its 23 made baskets. Maurice Clady had a career-high eight assists for the 49ers.
UC Irvine had four players hit double digits as Darren Fells led the way with 19 points, Patrick Sanders had 18 points, Marcus McIntosh 16 and Michael Hunter 12. The Anteaters shot .588 (30-51) from the field for the game and out-rebounded the 49ers 26-to-21. UCI had just 11 turnovers in the game and hit 8-17 (.471) of its three-point attempts.
"I'm really proud of this team," said 49er Head Coach Dan Monson. "You can't ask for anything else as they all played with a hard effort and battled all season long. That's somethings as a coach you appreciate."
Long Beach got off to a hot start to begin the game by jumping to a 10-2 lead in the first 3:26 of the contest. UCI took its first lead of the game, 17-16, at 10:51 after a Brett Lauer three. The Anteaters then began to pull away, out-scoring the 49ers 18-3 over the final 5:23 of the half. UCI shot .720 (18-25) from the field in the opening stanza, knocking down 6-11 three's, and led 47-31 at the half.
After trailing by as many as 20 points (64-44) in the second half, Long Beach was able to pull to within 11 points with 6:59 left at 66-55 on Morris fifth three-pointer of the game. The 49ers were still within striking distance at 1:57, 73-63, but McIntosh knocked down a jumper with 1:24 left to push the lead to 75-63.
