49ers crush Tritons in exhibition opener

Hoops • Senior Anthony Coleman scored seven points and had three blocked shots during the 49ers' 78-43 win over the Tritons in The Pyramid Friday. Yulian Danusastro/Online Forty-Niner

 

By Henry Montemayor
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer

The men's basketball team welcomed the UC San Diego Tritons in an exhibition game in The Pyramid Friday night. The Tritons received a rude welcome and were sent home with a 78-43 defeat in front of 1,587 fans.

Junior Shawn Hawkins led all scorers, pitching in 21 in the victory. Hawkins, a transfer from Columbus State College brings 23.5 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game to The Beach, who ranked last in the Big West Conference in scoring last season (62.9 points per game.). Louis Darby came off the bench to contribute 19 points as Kevin Houston, Cody Pearson and Keion Kindred rounded out the 49ers' top scorers with seven points, six points and four points respectively. The 49ers shot 50 percent from the field.

Although no San Diego player scored in double figures, Zackary Craddock came off the bench to lead the Tritons in scoring with nine points. Robby Peters, Andrew Hatch and Kyle Johnson rounded out the Tritons' leading scorers with seven points, six points and five points respectively.

The 49ers opened the game with a 10-2 run, the lone San Diego points coming as a result of a goaltending call. Andrew Hatch scored the Triton's first basket at the 15:51 mark.

The 49ers' intensity and energy on defense caused 16 first half turnovers, including 10 steals. Third-year Head Coach Larry Reynolds said they have always wanted to play with this kind of intensity, but didn't have the "talent or athleticism" to do so last year. This year, he believes he has the talent and athleticism to run this kind of defense. Long Beach entered halftime leading the game 44-23.

The 49ers continued where they left off at the beginning of the second half, again causing turnovers. The Tritons came out in the second half with different combinations to try to figure out the 49ers' defense, but the result was still the same, as the 49ers rolled to a 15-0 run.

The 49ers began to falter near the end of each half after a very quick beginning. Although the 49ers began to commit turnovers of their own, the Tritons were not able to capitalize as they either missed the shot or turned the ball over themselves. Reynolds said that it is a lot of the players' "first time playing at this level," and that his goal is for the team to "play at this level for 40 minutes."

The 49ers caused a total of 33 turnovers, including 19 steals. Hawkins led all players with five steals as two players chipped in with three steals apiece, and four players had two steals apiece.

Although Hawkins was the leading scorer of the game, he is no way the "go to guy."

"This is a team thing. We have to be able to carry ourselves," Hawkins said. "One day I may get 21, and the next day, I might only get six points."

While Reynolds was happy with the results of the game, he said that wins and losses don't make a season. Although the team struggled the past two years, and failed to make the conference tournament last year, Reynolds' goal this year is to "make the conference tournament and do some damage."

The 49ers hit the hardwood again on Thursday against Alaska-Anchorage at 7:35 p.m. in The Pyramid.