A preseason media selection to win the Big West Conference last season, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team found the right formula this year.
The 49ers defeated second-place Cal Poly, 61-55, in front of an electric 3,352 home fans to win the regular-season title outright Thursday night at the Walter Pyramid.
It is the first conference championship for The Beach since the 2006-07 season, and its first under fourth-year head coach Dan Monson — who took over the program the following season.
With the win, LBSU (18-10, 12-2 Big West) clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament, and also secured a guaranteed postseason berth in the National Invitation Tournament should it not win the conference tournament title.
The ‘Niners will face the No. 8 seed yet to be determined in the first round at noon on March 10 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
“We’re going to enjoy this, but our long-term goal is to win that tournament championship and go to the NCAA Tournament,” said 49ers junior point guard Casper Ware, who scored a game-high 25 points with the help of five 3-pointers.
The late-game heroics of teammate Larry Anderson sealed the victory, however.
With a 56-53 lead, LBSU senior Greg Plater launched an airball, but Anderson caught the ball in mid-air and scored a putback layup all in one motion with one second remaining on the shot clock. The basket extended the lead to 58-53 with 23.9 seconds to play.
“Every basket was big, every possession was big,” Monson said. “I thought Larry was a little tentative early and frustrated. To his credit, I thought his aggressiveness on the offensive end — right to the putback — was vital for us.”
Cal Poly (14-13, 9-5 Big West) guard Chris O’Brien — who finished with a team-high 16 points — then misfired on a pair of 3-pointers on the ensuing possession.
But Mustangs forward David Hanson grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled with 7.2 seconds left. He made a pair of free throws to pull within 58-55.
With 6.5 seconds remaining, Anderson then had the presence of mind on the inbounds to find a sprinting Plater, who was fouled past half court without a defender in his path. It was ruled an intentional foul, which gave the ‘Niners a pair of free-throw attempts plus a possession.
“[Plater and I] both looked at each other and I just led him to the rim,” said Anderson, who finished with 13 points.
Plater split the pair, but Ware connected on two more free throws with 4.1 seconds left to provide the game’s final points. When the final buzzer sounded, the Maniacs student section stormed the court to celebrate with the team, which cut down the nets afterward.
During the postgame celebration, Monson got on the public address announcer’s microphone to thank the fans. He also addressed LBSU President F. King Alexander for his initiative to implement a student fee increase Wednesday that will provide additional funds for the athletic department, and the university as a whole.
“It was how you would expect to win a league championship, it was hard,” said Monson, who was later given a Gatorade bath by his players. “[Cal Poly] is in second place for a reason; they have an identity of how they play and they dictated the tempo a lot of the evening.”
A layup from Maliik Love gave Cal Poly its first lead of the second half at 36-35 inside the first five minutes.
Meanwhile, LBSU started the final period 5-of-20 from the floor after connecting on 50 percent (12 of 24) in the first half. But starting at the 7:46 mark, the 49ers made four of their next six shots including a contested Ware 3-pointer from straightaway with 4:13 remaining to give LBSU a 51-50 lead it would not relinquish.
“Casper picked us up really well, he’s been carrying us this whole time,” Anderson said of Ware, who battled cramps at the end of the contest.
Before Ware’s 3-pointer, Cal Poly’s Shawn Lewis hit his own 3 with 4:37 to play. But that was the last field goal the Mustangs would convert the rest of the way. Turnovers also plagued the Mustangs, who committed 11 of their 19 in the second half.
The ‘Niners took a 31-28 lead into the break behind Ware’s aggressive scoring mentality.
The 49ers connected on five of their first eight attempts, including a 3-of-4 start from Ware — all from 3-point range. The point guard stepped into each of his shot attempts in rhythm and without hesitation.
“Basically, I just wanted to let our team know that I’m ready to play,” said Ware, who finished 8 of 15 for the game.
LBSU will return to action Saturday on Senior Night at the Walter Pyramid. The 49ers will face UC Santa Barbara in a nationally-televised affair on ESPN2 at 5:05 p.m.
It is also White Out Night as the first 4,000 fans will receive free white T-shirts.
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