The Long Beach State men’s basketball team continued its winning ways–this time with a dominant defensive performance.
The ‘Niners held Auburn to a season-low 43 points for the game in their 64-43 victory on Friday night in Honolulu.
Senior guard Larry Anderson had an efficient scoring night for LBSU, dropping 16 points on 5 of 6 shooting, including 2 of 2 from 3-point range and 4 of 5 from the free throw line. Senior forward Eugene Phelps poured in 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting, including 3 of 4 from the charity stripe. Phelps also grabbed six rebounds.
Senior guard Casper Ware had a rough shooting night, but still found ways to put his imprint on the game. Ware finished with 13 points on 2 of 10 shooting, but he was able to get slash his way to nine free throw attempts, converting on seven of them.
Senior forward T.J. Robinson scored six points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while senior forward Edis Dervisevic brought his energy and toughness off the bench once again. Dervisevic scored four points on 2-for-5 shooting; he also grabbed five rebounds.
The ‘Niners [7-5] used a 10-0 run mid-way through the first half to push their lead out to double-digits, and the Tigers [8-2] looked to be over-matched for the rest of the game.
49ers head coach Dan Monson has preached the importance of defense all season long, and this was one of the best defensive performances The Beach has put up all season long.
LBSU took a 32-22 lead into the break, marking the second straight game in which they held their opponent under 25 points in the opening period. The ‘Niners were able to stifle Auburn’s scoring attack, holding them to just 23.1 percent shooting [6-26] in the first half.
Meanwhile, the ‘Niners shot 50 percent [10-20] from the field in the first half, including 10-13 from the free throw line.
It didn’t get much easier for the Tigers in the second period. LBSU turned up the defensive pressure and held Auburn to 21 second half points on 29 percent shooting [9-31].
The Beach didn’t shoot well themselves after the break, but were able to put together a 16-0 run that put them up 62-38 with just 3:26 remaining in the game. The Tigers didn’t score a field goal for over nine minutes in the second half.
Junior guard Frankie Sullivan was the only effective player for the Tigers on the evening. He finished with 22 points on 8 of 16 shooting and pulled down six rebounds.
LBSU will face Kansas State [9-1] on Christmas Day. The Wildcats earned their spot in the Diamond Head Classic championship game by defeating Southern Illinois and UTEP. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. [PT]–the game can be seen on ESPN2.
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