|
sports
49ers beat up
on Otters in 81-46 home win
By Phil Witte
On-line Forty-Niner
Goldilocks never
had it as hard as the Long Beach State men's basketball team.
The 49ers last two games were rough double-digit losses against
Top-40 teams Oregon and UNC-Charlotte, two opponents that
may have been a bit "too hard."
Monday night at The Pyramid saw a visit from tiny Cal State
Monterey Bay, an opponent that was probably a bit "too
easy," as indicated by the final score of 81-46.
This Friday night's game at Texas A&M should give a better
indication of where the team is when it takes on a foe that
should be "just right."
The last time CSMB (2-4) visited The Beach in 1999, the 49ers
(3-2) set every conceivable offensive record for the school
in piling up a 127-57 win. Monday's game was not quite that
bad, if only for the fact that the Otters have learned to
wait until the shot clock was single digits before missing
a shot.
The emergence of freshman forward Chris Jenkins, who poured
in a career-high 20 points, is making the loss of Lemi Williams
a little more bearable. Jenkins' total included a blistering
four-for-four from three-point land.
"I'm enjoying all the playing time and I feel comfortable
out there," Jenkins said. "Other teams aren't looking
for me to score, so that's why I'm getting so many open looks."
Early in the first half, the 49ers tried to take advantage
of their edge in height - the Otters started one player taller
than 6-foot-2 - and got the ball inside to Travis Reed. The
center responded by hitting six-of-seven shots in the half
and finished the game with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Despite the edge, LBSU only led by three at the 10-minute
mark, but closed the half with an 18-6 run that put the game
virtually out of reach at the break.
"We played consistently hard for 40 minutes tonight and
that was one of our goals," 49er Coach Wayne Morgan said.
"It was unfortunate for [CSMB], because their best player,
[Rodney] Thorne, had a toenail removed last night and was
unable to play. I would have liked the opportunity to see
him play."
LBSU continued where it left off in the second half, starting
with a 15-7 run. The Otters took their highlights where they
could, as when Dexter Amey drove the baseline and dunked on
Tadeu Souza.
Amey finished with 10 points, and Rocky Stereo had a team-high
11 points. Both players also had four steals.
Tony Darden added 11 points for LBSU, and the 49er starting
backcourt had game-highs with Ron Johnson's five steals and
Michael Darrett's five assists.
Ball handling was again a concern for The Beach, as it turned
the ball over 20 times.
"Getting 18 steals was nice, but obviously 20 turnovers
a game is something we need to work on," Morgan said.
"After the last game we had a meeting and acknowledged
that some guys were getting too many minutes.
"We're going to get nine or 10 guys into every game,
so players know they can come out and not have to pace themselves.
The learning curve for some players is going to have to be
steeper also."
|
|
Cara
Garcia/On-line Forty-Niner
Chris Jenkins
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Search our site
DEPARTMENT
OF
JOURNALISM
ONLINE 49ER
DEPARTMENTS
ADVERTISING
ADMINISTRATION
DAILY
49ER ALUMNI
SUBSCRIPTION
SERVICE
GIVE
FEEDBACK
|
