TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1998

49ers triump over Aztecs

By Eric Boyum

On-Line Forty-Niner

SAN DIEGO - Perhaps the Long Beach State basketball team should play all of its games on the road.

The 49ers feasted on a winless (0-5) San Diego State team and earned their second win of the season 75-70 on Saturday.

The 49ers (2-3) received a solid effort from former San Diego Helix High School player, Ron Johnson, who was overlooked by the Aztecs as a prep and not offered a scholarship.

Wayne Morgan, the 49ers head coach, did not start Johnson at point guard, but it only took him 45 seconds to insert him into the game.

Johnson's contributions helped the 49ers jump out to a 6-1 lead that resulted off good transitions from the defensive end to the offensive end of the floor.

However, Aztec senior guard Matt Watts made two easy layups off 49er turnovers to cut the 49er lead to one point.

The teams battled for the next 15 minutes until 49er forward Richie Smalls made his second of two dunks in the half to open a 33-24 advantage.

Just when it looked like the 49ers might run away with the game, the Aztecs rallied before halftime to shave the lead to 35-31.

SDSU made one more run in the second half when they actually took a brief one point lead behind solid play from the Aztecs' front line.

However, poor free throw shooting by the Aztecs - which has been the 49ers problem in their first four games - gave The Beach control of the game late.

The 49ers added a zone defense to take away the Aztec's inside threat and then returned with man-to-man defense with the game on the line.

With a 66-63 lead, the 49ers put the game away by scoring points on their final five offensive possessions leading to a 75-70 victory.

"This is a big win for us," Johnson said. "We put two solid halves together."

Morgan said that his team has been working daily to improve on a dreadful .560 percentage from the free-throw line.

It showed against the Aztecs as the 49ers made nine of 11 attempts.

"This is the best effort we have had so far," Morgan said. "There were no dead spots on offense like we have had in our other games."

The 49ers will host Division II Cal State Dominguez Hills on Tuesday before they enter the toughest part of their non-conference schedule.