Long Beach State University
Cal State Fullerton
Ennis leads 49ers past Cal State Fullerton
1/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2012
CLICK HERE TO WATCH HIGHLIGHTS COURTESY OF GazettesSports.com
CLICK HERE TO WATCH COACH MONSON'S POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
LONG BEACH, Calif. - James Ennisscored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the final 7:03 of the game to help Long Beach State pull away from Cal State Fullerton in a 75-61 Big West Conference win in front of a Walter Pyramid record crowd of 5,649.
Ennis, who tied a career high in scoring, hit back-to-back crucial baskets in a 50 second span to break a pair of tie scores late in the game. Ennis' first hoop came on a pull-up jumper to give LBSU a two-point lead with 7:03 to play. After the Titans tied it at the other end, Ennis hit a 3-pointer to give LBSU a three-point lead.
He added an old fashioned three-point play two minute and 25 seconds later to push the 49er lead to four. He finished the Titans off making 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:39 of the game.
Ennis went 6-of-10 from the floor and finished with four assists, two steals and two blocks. Larry Andersonadded 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists while tying a career high with five steals. He did have six of LBSU's 18 turnovers.
Casper Ware chipped in 11 points and five assists, becoming just the second 49er to eclipse the 500-career assist mark during his career. He needs four more assists to set a new Long Beach State assist record. T.J. Robinsonjust missed his 49th career double-double finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Long Beach State (16-6, 9-0 Big West) got nine points, two assists and two steals from Mike Caffey, and eight points and five boards from Edis Derviseviccoming off the bench.
The 49ers ran their conference winning streak to 17 games, the third longest in school history, dating back to a loss at UC Irvine on Jan. 22, 2011. The 49ers also won their 18th straight home game and their 13th straight Big West Conference home game.
Both teams got off to quick offensive starts with LBSU making 5-of-8 shots and CSF (13-7, 5-3 Big West) answering with 4-of-6 shooting. Ennis led LBSU with four early points, while Anderson had three as the 49ers took an 11-9 lead into the first TV timeout.
Omondi Amoke (20 points/7 rebounds) and D.J. Seeley kept the Titans close early scoring 13 of CSF's first 16 points over the opening 8:10 of the game. Amoke led the way with eight on 4-of-5 shooting allowing Fullerton to trail by just one, 17-16.
The 49ers continued to shoot well making nine of their first 17 shots, but seven turnovers in the first 12 minutes helped Cal State Fullerton hang around. Caffey canned a 3-pointer to give LBSU a 24-20 lead at the under eight timeout. Anderson added a transition basket and the 49ers led by six.
The 49ers maintained the lead through the next media timeout with Anderson scoring on a tip in to give LBSU a 34-28 lead.
Long Beach State built the first-half lead to eight, 36-28, on a jumper by Ennis before taking a seven-point lead into the locker room.
The 49ers made 51.7 percent (15-of-29) of their shots in the first half, but struggled at the line connecting on just 40 percent (6-of-15) of their free throws. Anderson and Caffey led the way for the 49ers with nine points apiece, but Anderson could have had more missing five of the eight free throws he shot. He finished the half with five assists, four rebounds and two assists.
Caffey made three of the four shots he attempted, including both of his 3-pointers. Robinson and Ennis scored six points each in the half.
Amoke, who made 7-of-10 shots, led the Titans with 16 of the team's 32 first half points. Fullerton made 43.8 percent (14-of-32) of its shots and both of its free throws. The Titans committed 10 turnovers compared to the 49ers nine.
Robinson led Long Beach State coming out of the locker room scoring four of the team's six points in the opening 4:27 to give the 49ers a nine-point lead, 45-36. Ware, who scored the other LBSU basket, came out of the timeout and canned a three in transition to give LBSU a double-digit lead, 48-36, forcing the Titans to burn a timeout.
The Titans answered with a 13-5 run to cut the lead to four, 53-49, on an Isiah Umipig (16 points) transition jumper to force a 49er timeout. LBSU turned it over coming out of the timeout and Seeley made it a 15-5 run with a baseline runner cutting the lead to two.
The 49ers finally snapped a four minute scoring drought when Ennis scored in transition. The Titans tied it again, but Ennis answered with a long 3-pointer to give the 49ers a five-point cushion with six minutes to play and the 49ers never looked back in the win.
Long Beach State returns to action next Saturday when the 49ers host Cal State Northridge at 7:30 p.m.
