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sports:
men's basketball
LBSU tips off
BWC tourney today
By Phil Witte
On-line Forty-Niner
The 18 wins this
season and the current three-game unbeaten streak will be
meaningless when Long Beach State tips off today at noon against
Boise State in the first round of the Big West Tournament
at the Anaheim Convention Center.
A new season starts
today, and to advance to the promised land of the NCAA tournament,
LBSU (18-12 overall, 10-6 Big West Conference) will have to
win three games in three days, starting with Boise State (16-13,
8-8).
"Our team
has endured some hardships and overcome obstacles, but we're
playing pretty well and coming together as a team," Head
Coach Wayne Morgan said.
The teams split
the season series, with LBSU winning 80-62 at The Pyramid
on Feb. 14, and the Broncos holding serve at home 79-77 in
overtime on Jan. 13. Like the 49ers, the Broncos are ending
the season with three straight wins.
"We have some
momentum right now and we got hot at just the right time,"
Bronco Head Coach Rod Jensen said.
The LBSU-BSU contest
will be the first of four on the day, with the game between
second-seeded Utah State (24-5, 13-3) and seventh seed Cal
State Fullerton (5-22, 3-13), following 30 minutes after the
completion of the first game.
The late session
begins at 6 p.m. when regular season champion UC Irvine (24-3,
15-1) battles eighth seed Cal Poly (9-18, 3-13). Thirty minutes
after the completion of that contest, fourth seed UC Santa
Barbara (13-14, 9-7) tips off against fifth seed Pacific (16-11,
8-8).
The tournament
continues Friday at 6 p.m. with the first semifinal pitting
the teams from today's morning session, which would include
LBSU if the team advances. Thirty minutes after the end of
the first game, roughly 8:30 p.m., the second semifinal will
pit the winners of the late games.
The two semifinal
survivors will tip off at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, with the winner
receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Speculation
is rampant over whether any team from the Big West other than
the tournament champion will receive a bid, but the conference
has not sent two teams since the 1992-93 season.
"If Irvine
doesn't win the tournament, I think they deserve a bid, but
then again, I thought we deserved a bid last year," 49er
guard Ramel "Rock" Lloyd said.
The Beach will
be trying to reach the tourney final for the first time since
winning it all in 1995, when they knocked off Nevada 76-69
in overtime at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Another
motivating factor for the first game will be avenging the
71-58 semifinal loss to the Broncos in 1999, the only time
previous the two teams have met in post-season play.
Today's match-up
will feature three first team All-Big West selections, Lloyd,
LBSU center Travis Reed and BSU forward Abe Jackson. Lloyd
and Reed are first time selections to the top team, Reed in
his first year in the conference, and Jackson was selected
for the second straight year.
Reed finished the
season leading the conference in rebounding with 8.7 per game
and was sixth in scoring at 14.5 points per game.
"It feels
good that all the hard work paid off and I am truly blessed
to receive the honor," Reed said. "The tournament
is a whole new season. It doesn't matter if you win 20 in
a row, if you lose in the first round, your season's over."
Lloyd finished
the season second in scoring at 18.9, one percentage point
behind player of the year Jerry Green. With 1,493 points,
the 6-foot-4 senior ranks fourth all-time at LBSU and is also
fifth all-time in field goals with 559 and three pointers
made with 123.
"I'm honored
that both Travis and I were selected," Lloyd said. "It
says a lot about our team."
In the team's two
regular season match-ups Lloyd averaged 20.5 points and five
rebounds, Reed 20.5 and 13.5 rebounds, and Jackson 15 points
and 4.5 rebounds.
"Abe can really
shoot the ball, but so can Rock," Jensen said. "Where
Abe is a stationary shooter, Rock can create his own plays.
I expect both guys to step up Thursday and the fans should
be in for a great basketball game."
Also receiving
post-season recognition for the 49ers was junior point guard
Ron Johnson, who won the Best Hustle award.
"I'm honored
to win any award and it shows people notice what I've done
on the court," Johnson said.
One notable omission
from end of season honors was Kevin Roberts from the all-freshman
team. The 6-foot-6 forward started the season slowly but stepped
up in the absence of Rudy Williams, finishing the season by
averaging 6.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game over the final
17 games.
"I certainly
thought he was among the five best freshman, but maybe this
will motivate him to prove everyone wrong," Morgan said.
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