A crowd of 4,732 fans jammed into the Walter Pyramid Saturday night as the Long Beach State men’s basketball team won its sixth consecutive game in a nail-biter over Pacific.
Junior guard Casper Ware drained a long two-point jumper to give LBSU (11-8, 6-0 Big West Conference) a 70-69 lead with just 10.1 seconds left on the clock.
“I was feeling myself, so I knew it would go in,” Ware said.
It would turn out to be the game-winning shot, as Tigers senior guard Demetrece Young handled the ball and put up a last-second effort but bricked off the rim with Ware cleanly contesting the attempt.
“I didn’t want to foul, I just wanted to make sure I contested it,” Ware said.
Ware, who led the 49ers with 18 points and five assists, also hit a go-ahead basket with 56 seconds left to give The Beach a brief 68-67 lead. Pacific guard Allen Huddleston hit two free throws to give the edge back to the Tigers — setting up the final sequence.
Pacific forward Sam Willard played a great game as he led all scorers with a career-high 27 points to go with 13 rebounds.
49ers head coach Dan Monson put it simply: “[Willard] was just a stud.”
LBSU junior guard Greg Plater added 16 points while shooting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, including a huge 3-point basket with 1:09 left to put The Beach within one.
“I felt it sparked some belief that we could come back and win this game,” said Plater of his shot.
Junior guard Larry Anderson continued his all-around play, recording another double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Junior forward T.J. Robinson also reached double-digit scoring with 11.
The ‘Niners struggled in the first half, shooting a less than average 39.3 percent from the field compared to the Tigers’ 59.3 percent.
Pacific (10-8, 2-3 Big West) took its lead to 12 points with 10:11 to play until halftime, but Long Beach continued to play its way back into the game. The 49ers capped it off with a half-court buzzer beater by senior Tristan Wilson to send the team into halftime down just four points, 40-36.
Monson and Ware expressed how important a big play like that can be.
“Tristan is giving us a good lift,” Monson said. “He’s another guy that can come in there and do some things.”
“That was a big turn around for us, to go back down by four,” Ware said.
The win gives LBSU a commanding lead in the Big West as it has started conference play with six straight wins — the most under Monson — and longest since the 2006-07 season when it reached the NCAA Tournament. It was also the first time since the 1999-2000 campaign that The Beach has won its first six conference games.
“We knew this was a game to try to win the league,” Monson said. “It’s not going to win the league, but it’s a game against a contender.”
The 49ers are firing on all cylinders and are proving to be the team they were projected to be last year.
“We’re growing as a team,” Ware said. “Last year we lost this game, earlier this season we lost this game.”
Added Plater: “We’re getting real comfortable with each other. We’re starting to click as a team … that March Madness feeling is here early.”
The 49ers return to action Wednesday as they travel to Cal State Fullerton. Tip off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
“We just gotta go in there hungry because the last few times we played them they killed us,” Ware said.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.