Photo by Brittany M. Solo

Cotton scores 24, 49ers beat OSU

A 14-0 run in the first half was just what the Cal State Long Beach men's basketball team needed in a 68-56 thrashing of Oregon State. before a crowd of 3,113 at The Pyramid Tuesday night.

The 49ers (2-1), in this early part of the season, have split with PAC-10 foes. CSULB lost on the road to USC last Saturday.

A pair of spectacular dunks, by Marcus Johnson and Akeli Jackson, combined with a barrage of long-range shots to highlight the first-half run for coach Wayne Morgan's 49ers.

"If we do that for 40 minutes, we can become competitive with almost anyone," Morgan said.

James Cotton's performance was commendable again; the junior guard scored 24 points, including 17 in the first half. Cotton hit 4 of 5 three-pointers and was 8 for 10 from the free-throw line.

In three games this season, Cotton has converted 26 of the 32 free throws he has attempted, earning him an .825 percentage.

"I think he has demonstrated time and again that he's maybe the premier (shooting guard) in the country," Morgan said of Cotton. "I like his chances when he's shooting the ball."

CSULB was superb on defense, forcing 25 turnovers, which fueled the 49ers' high-octane offense.

Reserve point guard Tommie Davis, who returned to the court following a one-game suspension, flourished in the transition game. Davis said his skills are just beginning to take form.

"I've just been storing it up," Davis said. "I've been out a year, and I have a lot of things to prove and a lot of things to do. I'm just warming up." Davis sat out the 1995-96 season as a redshirt after transferring from Houston.

The comfortable victory allowed Morgan to use all 10 of the players the 49ers suited up. Even crowd favorite Doug Hansen got into the game after chants of "We want Doug!" The walk-on guard missed on his only shot, a 20-footer at the buzzer.

To go along with Cotton's big night, Jackson scored 15 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had two blocks.

Oregon State (1-2), with a starting line-up consisting of four freshmen and one junior, was led by reserve junior forward Sonny Benjamin, who tallied 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

His brother Corey, a top 10 national recruit last year out of Fontana High School, could not play for the Beavers, after receiving notification from the NCAA that he must retake his ACT exam.

The 49ers now travel to West Lafayette, Ind., for the four-team Boilermaker Invitational, hosted by Purdue. CSULB will play Mercer in the opener Friday, with the hosts playing Mercer in the second game.

Saturday's games will be meetings of the semifinal winners and losers.

Most likely, the 49ers will face Purdue in the final. Cotton and his 49er teammates are hoping to continue their winning ways against Big Ten competition.

"I feel good right now," Cotton said. "We're looking forward to this road trip, so our hopes our high."