Rock leads 49ers in exhibition opener

By Phil Witte
Daily Forty-Niner

The game was not as one-sided as a Globetrotter versus Washington Generals game, but the Long Beach State men's basketball team easily dispatched the East Los Angeles All-Stars team 94-79 in an exhibition game to kick off the 2000-2001 season.

Four players made their 49er debut in the game and five players finished with double figures, led by guard Rock Lloyd's 21 points.

"I thought we played very hard in the first half and Grant Stone and Rock Lloyd made the plays for us and in the second Michael Darrett did a very good job," Head Coach Wayne Morgan said.

With guard Larry Johnson, center Rudy Williams and forward Vance Lawhorn all nursing injuries, the 49ers were forced into playing a smaller line-up, which ran the floor well but lacked size on the interior defense.

"We had to play smaller than we like but we made up for it with our speed and quickness," Morgan said.

Guard Ron Johnson showed his versatility when he opened the scoring with a trey on The Beach's first trip up the floor and followed that with a driving lay-up on the next play.

The All-Stars were determined to run the floor with the 49ers and kept up early, consistently sneaking a shooter into the crease in the 49er zone defense.

Thirteen of the All-Stars' first-half baskets came on lay-ups and the team held an early 15-14 lead.

LBSU did not take well to being behind and stormed back, running its lead as far as 10 before finishing the half up 42-39.

Forward Lemi Williams had a rough start in his first game for LBSU, missing all five of his field goal attempts, but he did get five points from free throws. Lloyd led The Beach with 14 points at the half.

During halftime, Coach Morgan lit a fire under Lemi and the junior responded with two quick baskets to bring the lead to six.

"I told him who we saw in the first half is not the Lemi we know," Morgan said. "As long as he's aggressive, no one can guard him."

After sitting out the first half to rest a slightly sprained ankle, center Travis Reed provided some much-needed height in the middle, blocking shots on consecutive defensive possessions.

Reed's play gave relief to forward Stone, who had been providing the majority of the interior defense.

With the introduction of Reed in the second half, the 49er offense moved inside the paint and forced the All-Stars to the perimeter.

"In the beginning I was a little nervous because I hadn't been out there for so long," Reed said.

With five minutes to go the All-Stars pulled within three using forward Eric May as a big body inside, but the 49ers stepped up and ran them off the court, finishing the game up 94-79.

Despite using a smaller than normal line-up, LBSU dominated on the glass, out rebounding the All-Stars 52-30, led by Lloyd's 14 and Stone's 10.

More importantly, on the offensive end the 49ers completely controlled play, pulling down 24 offensive boards to the All-Stars' 23 defensive.

Newcomer Michael Darrett looks to give guard (Ron) Johnson a fight for the point guard position. The junior finished with a team-high six assists and only one turnover.

In addition to Lloyd, senior captain Stone finished with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Next up for The Beach is another exhibition Saturday, as the team takes on the West L.A. All-Stars at 7:35 p.m. at The Pyramid.

Caroline Limuti/Daily Forty-Niner

Junior Lemi Williams goes up against opponent Anthony White.