Long Beach State junior Larry Anderson returned from injury Tuesday night and looked like the first-team All-Big West Conference selection from two seasons ago.
Anderson came off the bench to score 15 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, and the 49ers men’s basketball team knocked off defending conference champion UC Santa Barbara, 71-55, in the Big West opener at the Thunderdome in Goleta.
Despite missing the last six games with a broken non-shooting hand, the 6-foot-5 guard made four of his first five shots, finished 9-of-10 from the field and converted 6-of-7 at the free-throw line. He was one of four ‘Niners to score in double figures followed by T.J. Robinson’s 13 and 12 apiece from Greg Plater and Eugene Phelps.
“I said at practice yesterday, I don’t know if it gives the kids more confidence but it sure does us as a staff,” LBSU coach Dan Monson said in a statement. “I told [Anderson] at shoot around today that he needs to get the swagger back on this team because everyone believes in him. For him coming out with a broken hand, first time out, he was very impressive.”
Anderson also added eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal in an impressive all-around performance.
LBSU (6-8, 1-0 Big West) made 14-of-24 shots in the second half to finish at 49 percent (24-of-49) for the game. Meanwhile, UCSB (6-5, 0-1 Big West) struggled offensively and finished a lowly 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the field.
The Gauchos duo of James Nunnally and Orlando Johnson, the top two scorers in the Big West entering the contest, combined for just 21 points on 6-of-27 shooting. Nunnally scored just seven points, which is 13 under his league-leading 20.2 ppg average.
“You can’t win on the road unless you control their offense and I really thought our guys were focused for not 40 minutes, but 30-some defensively,” Monson said. “I told them I’m not proud of them because this is how I expect them to be. Today they were who we want them to be and we need to expect that out of ourselves every day.”
Johnson, the reigning Big West player of the year, led a second-half charge as the Gauchos cut a 13-point deficit down to five with 6:44 to play. But Anderson, who played 33 minutes, responded with seven points as part of a 14-5 run to close the contest.
A game-time decision coming into the game, Anderson checked in early in the first half and paced the ‘Niners to a 29-23 halftime lead.
Both teams started slow, combining to make just 6-of-29 from the field midway through the first half.
LBSU’s defense, however, forced 10 first-half turnovers that led to easy transition baskets. Tied at 15, The Beach went on a 14-5 run before Jon Pastorek nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the half for the Gauchos.
The 49ers return to action Thursday against Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Tipoff from Mott Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m.
It will be the conference opener for the Mustangs (4-7, 0-0 Big West), who are led by David Hanson’s 15.7 points per game. Hanson also is the reigning conference player of the week after connecting for six 3-pointers en route to a career-high 28 points in a 70-64 win at Pepperdine last Tuesday.
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