MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1998

The Beach falls to No. 22 Utes in hard-fought contest

By Eric Boyum

On-Line Forty-Niner

 

In what was labeled as a put-up or shut-up game for the Long Beach State men's basketball team against nationally ranked Utah, the 49ers put-up, despite losing 61-54.

The Utes' victory was in doubt with under 30 seconds remaining when referees and Utah point guard Andre Miller provided too much for the 49ers to overcome.

With only 28 seconds remaining and trailing Utah 55-52, the 49ers had possession and a chance to tie.

As 49er point guard Ron Johnson looked to the low post for teammate Ramel Lloyd, an away from the ball foul was called on Lloyd for pushing off on Miller.

This awarded him two free throws - both of which he converted - to seal the game.

The 49ers actually led the game in the first half and was tied 23-23 at halftime. Solid zone defense by the 49ers resulted in the Utes shooting only .360 percent in the first half.

"They [Utah] don't play well against zone ... not to take anything away from them because they are a very good team," 49er Head Coach Wayne Morgan said. "If you play them man-to-man, they will take you apart."

Utah Head Coach Rick Majerus said he was impressed with the 49ers athleticism and admitted his team struggled early.

"I thought they [49ers] played really hard," Majerus said. "He's

[Morgan] got to feel good about their effort. They had a variety of traps and zones that gave us problems."

It did not matter what defense Miller faced in the second half as 3,536 fans watched him drive his way to the basket whenever Utah needed points.

He earned 16 trips to the free-throw line and scored 24 points in the second half. His game total of 29 points surpassed his career high.

"That's why he is a first team All-American," 49er guard Ramel Lloyd said.

The 49er offense struggled in the second half without 6-foot-11-inch forward Mate Milisa, who was victimized by a sprained ankle just three minutes into the second half.

The 49ers only reached the free-throw line half as many times as Utah in the second half. In fact, Utah's 38 total trips to line almost tripled the 11 attempts by the 49ers.

Morgan, who was clearly not happy about the discrepancy in fouls awarded to his team, said there were "many critical junctures" in the game that affected the outcome.

"I would have really liked to have seen what would have happened had Mate Milisa not sprained his ankle," Morgan said.

Utah, who was last season's national runner-up, came into the game ranked No. 22 in the polls. It is the highest ranked opponent the 49ers have played in The Pyramid.

With the win, Utah improved its record to 4-3, while the 49ers came close again, but fell to 3-4.

Majerus said he was impressed with what he saw from the 49ers.

"I don't know the team except what I saw tonight," he said. "I

do know this ... there is talent. I see him [Morgan] out recruiting, and I see great camaraderie on that team."

Morgan praised the effort of his team, but said they are not

satisfied by the showing.

"We lost the game and my kids are all over there and they're upset," he said. "We played to win the game."