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49ers
float past Idaho; Utah State burst bubble
Hoops
• Senior Chris Jenkins goes for a
lay-up in the 75-44 loss against Utah State
last Saturday. Yulian Danusastro/Online
Forty-Niner
By
Andrew De Lara
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
In
the midst of an ongoing, raging storm, occasionally
the sun decides to peek through the shrouds
of dark clouds, but in the case of the Long
Beach State men's basketball team, the exhilaration
of light once again failed to materialize
as the 49ers were completely dismantled
at the hands of the Utah State Aggies Saturday
night, 75-44.
Last
Thursday, the bruised and battered 49ers
(3-16) finally caught a glimpse of light,
winning their very first Big West game since
the beginning of the conference season.
They improved their record to 1-8 in the
league and snapped an eight-game losing
streak. The Beach defeated the Idaho Vandals
Thursday night, 53-52, with a floater by
junior guard Jibril Hodges with 8.8 seconds
left on the shot clock.
Long
Beach State, led by junior forward Shawn
Hawkins, who scored 15 points against Idaho.
Hawkins was complemented by a stellar performance
from Onye Ibekwe, a sophomore transfer forward
from Oklahoma State, who tallied 12 points
and 11 rebounds.
Despite
the win, LBSU shot only 53 percent from
the free-throw line, and was a mere 1-9
(.111) from beyond the three-point arc.
The Beach also committed 21 turnovers on
the night, and still found a way to secure
a victory.
The
relief, however, was short lived, as Utah
State came crashing into The Pyramid on
Saturday night.
Much
to the disbelief of 49er fans in attendance,
the Aggies charged out of the gates, scoring
nine straight points and orchestrating a
17-0 run, as well as forcing a 26-2 lead
a little more than 10 minutes into the game.
Senior
Chris Jenkins, the only 49er to see double-digits,
led The Beach with 10 points but was boldly
overshadowed by USU's senior center Spencer
Nelson, who tallied 11 points, eight rebounds
and eight assists.
Nelson,
who is rated one of the top players in the
Big West conference, combined with teammate
guard David Pak, who had an impressive shooting
exhibition with 19 points (5-6 three-pointers
made), while two other Aggies scored in
double figures.
The
execution and cohesiveness displayed by
USU led to a 45-17 lead at halftime.
"I
knew Utah State was a good team," LBSU's
Head Coach, Larry Reynolds, said.
"But
they found their rhythm early, and I never
thought that we'd be down 26-2 going into
the game."
If
LBSU supporters thought that the scoreboard
was just a bad dream then certainly a false,
flashing fire alarm that went off inside
The Pyramid brought wandering minds back
to reality and the game.
And
the second half would not get any better.
The 49ers' deficit would not even come close
to pulling to single digits.
"They
made a statement with this victory in the
conference," Reynolds said. "It
seems like they knew where the passes were
going and Pak had his best three-point percentage
game by far."
Pak hit as many three-pointers as the entire
LBSU team combined.
And
the road, where the 49ers have won twice
in two and a half years, will not look to
be any more kind.
"We're
going to have to put this one behind us
and move on to the next one," said
Reynolds, whose team will next take on the
Cal State Northridge Matadors on Thursday
night.
Many
hope to weather the storm, and for everyone's
sake, put the last match behind them. But
in reality, barring nothing short of a miracle
on the road, the gloom rages on.
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