ANAHEIM — The Long Beach State men’s basketball team started out with 10 unanswered points but couldn’t hang on against Saint Mary’s in a 82-74 defeat at the John R. Wooden Classic on Saturday.
Trailing 72-70, the 49ers (5-7) had a chance to tie the game up with less than 2 minutes left to play at the Honda Center. The Beach played aggressive defense for the entire Gael’s possession, grabbed the rebound and kicked it out to Casper Ware, who started the fast break and missed a 5-foot shot that ended the 49ers’ chance for a comeback.
The Gaels took their first lead of the contest, 65-64, with six minutes left to play on a long 3-pointer by Mickey McConnell. The play proved to be the contest’s turning point as SMC went on a 17-10 run to end the game.
The Gael’s (9-2), who won their third game in a row, were led by Mitchell Young’s career-high 28 points off the bench. Young came into the game averaging just 8.2 points per game but matched his season average with 12 minutes left in the first half. He also added six rebounds and a block in 29 minutes.
“We just spaced [the floor], moved the ball around,” Young said. “We’re gonna find the open guy.”
LBSU dropped its third straight game with just one left to play before Big West Conference action begins. The team travels to Tempe, Ariz., to face Arizona State on Tuesday.
T.J. Robinson came close to recording his seventh double-double of the season, ending the game one rebound shy of the mark. Robinson finished with 19 points and nine rebounds but couldn’t take care of the ball as he had a game-high five turnovers for the 49ers.
“[SMC] executed well down the stretch and when they needed shots they got them,” Robinson said. “We kind of slipped up at the end and they got the shots they wanted.”
Ware had 10 points and eight assists but struggled to get a shot to fall in the first half. His five assists kept the offense rolling but the junior went scoreless in the opening half, missing all four of his shot attempts.
Ware shot 3-of-10 for the game but the team had a good shooting night, going 29-of-55 (52.7 percent) compared to SMC’s 33-of-65 (50.8 percent).
The 49ers’ offense was in rhythm early as a pair of 3-pointers from Greg Plater and Robinson helped LBSU get out to a 10-0 start.
Gaels guard Mickey McConnell drove the lane for a layup as time expired, as LBSU took a 41-37 lead into the locker room.
LBSU had three starters score double-digits in the first half, led by Robinson’s 12 points.
Tristan Wilson, who started in place of injured Larry Anderson (broken hand), had 14 points, six rebounds and added solid defense.
“I think Tristan is growing, and the positive about Larry getting hurt is hopefully we will be able to develop our bench,” Long Beach head coach Dan Monson said.
Anderson, who averaged 11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in the seven games before his injury, is listed as “extremely doubtful” for the Big West opener at UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 28.
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