The Long Beach State men’s basketball team couldn’t cure the hangover effect from its second half letdown against Montana.
The 49ers were outscored by 12 points in the first half of a 79-66 loss to No. 6-ranked Louisville on Monday in front of 20, 468 fans at the KFC Yum! Center.
The ‘Niners (3-3) committed a whopping 21 turnovers thanks to a stifling Louisville defense that tallied 14 steals.
The loss marked the Beach’s second in a row and third in the last four games. Meanwhile, the Cardinals (6-0) maintained their unblemished record and earned their 14th consecutive victory on their home floor.
Senior guard Larry Anderson paced the 49ers with 17 points on 6 of 10 from the field, to go with six rebounds. Senior point guard Casper Ware, who was held to just a combined 20 points in LBSU’s previous two games, scored 13 on 5 of 12 shooting and dished out a game-high eight assists. T.J Robinson and James Ennis scored 12 points apiece.
Louisville guard Chris Smith led all scorers with 18 points on 5 of 10 shooting, including 4-for-5 from the 3-point line. Freshman forward Chane Behanan added 13 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Peyton Siva chipped in with 11.
The ‘Niners opened the contest on the wrong foot as they missed their first four shots as Louisville opened up an 8-0 lead. Long Beach didn’t convert its first basket until almost four minutes had gone by in the period.
A 3-pointer by Ware cut the lead to six, but Louisville used a 10-1 run midway through the first half to take a commanding 28-14 advantage. The 49ers answered with an 8-0 run of their own, bringing the game back to within reach at 35-27. A missed three from the ‘Niners, however, was cashed in on the ensuing possession as Smith drained a 3 to put the Cardinals back up by 11.
The Beach committed 10 of its 21 turnovers in the first half after coughing up the ball seven times. The ‘Niners took a 44-32 deficit into the break.
The 49ers showed some life midway through the second half, after a 15-5 run cut the lead to 60-55 with 6:39 remaining. Louisville quickly silenced the LBSU run, though, as Smith buried a left-wing 3 before Siva sank a pair of free throws.
A steal and a layup from Robinson cut the deficit to seven with just over a minute left, but that’s as close as the ‘Niners would get as the Cardinals buried all six of their final free throws.
Both teams shot identical percentages from the field. LBSU hit 25 of 55 (45.5 percent), while Louisville went 26 of 57 (45.6 percent). The ‘Niners struggled from the 3-point line, though, as they missed 8 of 11 attempts for a dismal 27.3 percent clip. The Cardinals went 7 of 17 from long distance (41.2 percent).
The ‘Niners will return to the Walter Pyramid to face BYU-Hawaii on Friday at 7:05 p.m.
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