Long Beach State University
9-6, 2-0BWC
Cal Poly
9-6, 0-2BWC
Caffey sparks 49ers to win over Cal Poly
1/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2012
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LONG BEACH, Calif. - A pair of seniors led Long Beach State in scoring and rebounding, but it was freshman Mike Caffeywho may have played the biggest part in Long Beach State's 55-50 Big West Conference win over Cal Poly Thursday night in the Walter Pyramid.
Caffey scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds, and had season highs in assists (6) and steals (3), but it was his play in the final seven minutes that sealed the win for the 49ers (9-6, 2-0 Big West).
The freshman point guard sparked Long Beach State on a 14-7 run over the final minutes to help LBSU win its 15th straight home game. Caffey started the 49er rally with a 3-pointer with seven minutes to play to give LBSU a 44-43 lead, before getting an assist in transition 30 seconds later to put the Niners up three.
Four minutes later, with the 49ers leading by four, Caffey came up with a steal and then followed with an offensive rebound at the other end of the court that allowed LBSU to burn a minute off the clock even though Long Beach State couldn't turn the hustle plays into points.
Casper Waregave Long Beach State a three-point lead with 25 seconds to play when he hit a pair of free throws. He finished with a game-high 17 points.
Cal Poly (9-6, 0-2 Big West) wasn't able to tie it after Will Taylor (16 points) missed a desperation 3-pointer with eight seconds left on the clock.
T.J. Robinsongrabbed the rebound and iced the game with a pair of free throws with one second to play to give LBSU the win. Robinson finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds, his second consecutive double-double and the 45th of his career.
The 49ers struggled offensively against a Cal Poly team known for low scoring, tight games. LBSU made 18-of-41 (43.9 percent) shots, but was able to outscore the Mustangs 13-0 in transition. Long Beach State also had a 16-9 advantage off turnovers and forced 11 Cal Poly turnovers.
The Mustangs got off to a quick start making four of their first five shots to build a 9-4 lead at the first media timeout. The 49ers answered making 2-of-3, including an alley oop from Ware to James Ennisthat cut the lead to five.
Cal Poly continued to put the pressure on the 49ers scoring the first four points out of the timeout to build a nine-point lead and force LBSU to call a timeout. Taylor sparked Poly making all three of his shots in the first five minutes, while Amaurys Fermin added five points..
Caffey stopped the Mustang run with an old fashioned three-point play on a strong baseline drive that he powered through 6-foot-8 Will Donahue to cut the lead to 13-7.
Robinson added another three-point play on the 49ers next trip to cut the lead to three. After another Cal Poly hoop, the 49ers ran off six straight points to take their first lead of the game, 16-15. Robinson started the six-point run with a basket inside, Ware added a transition layup and Eugene Phelps(eight points) scored on the block.
Long Beach State was able to take its first lead thanks to a shooting drought by the Mustangs. After making four of their first five field goals, they converted on just four of their next 19 shots.
The 49ers took advantage building a 23-19 lead on a 3-pointer by Ware, LBSU's first trey in five attempts.
Cal Poly rallied to tie it at 23 making three straight shots, before Ware put the 49ers up two at the half with a pair of free throws with five seconds to play.
Ware led the 49ers in the first half with nine points, while Robinson had five points and nine rebounds. Phelps scored six points and Caffey had four assists.
LBSU made 10-of-22 shots (45.5 percent) in the half, while Poly connected on 11-of-27 (40.7 percent). Taylor (4-for-5) and Fermin (3-for-6) combined to make 7-of-11 shots for Cal Poly, while the rest of the Mustangs connected on hit just 4-of-16 (25 percent) shots.
The two teams traded points through the first four minutes and 16 seconds of the second half with Larry Andersonscoring three of LBSU's four points.
Cal Poly came out of the timeout and tied it on a hoop by Taylor, but Ware answered with a one-man five-point run. The 49er point guard made a pretty baseline floater, before canning a three in transition to put LBSU up 34-29.
Cal Poly scored six of the next seven points to tie it at 35. The Mustangs eventually took a 43-41 lead with under eight minutes to play, but Caffey sparked LBSU back into the lead. The freshman canned a three with seven minutes to play to put the 49ers on top 44-43, and then found Anderson in transition for a 46-43 lead with 6:32 remaining.
Anderson scored in transition again 30 seconds later, this time from Ennis, and LBSU had a five-point lead with six minutes to play.
Long Beach State, which struggled making just 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) free throws, converted on seven of its final 10 from the charity stripe over the last 3:40 to secure the win.
