The Long Beach State men’s basketball team needed five extra minutes to close out UC Riverside on Thursday night.
The 49ers defeated the upstart Highlanders, 77-70, in an overtime thriller.
The game fell on the shoulders of junior forward David Chavarria with 2.1 seconds remaining in regulation. With the 49ers leading 63-62, Chavarria was fouled and sent to the free throw line. He made the first, but missed the second — sending the game into overtime.
The extra period is where ‘Niners senior guard Casper Ware inserted his dominance. Ware scored 11 of his team-high 18 points to help The Beach escape UCR with a victory.
Ware hit a 3-pointer to break the ice in the extra period, giving the 49ers a 66-63 lead with 3:48 to play.
Highlanders’ senior Phil Martin answered right back with a deep ball of his own, knotting the game up at 66 apiece.
LBSU junior James Ennis buried a 3-pointer the very next possession, putting The Beach back up by three with 3:09 to play.
Ware closed out the game with a floater in the lane and six clutch free throws.
Despite shooting just 25 percent for the contest, Ware said that he felt he needed to step up offensively in order to win.
“My team needed me,” he said. “I’m not gonna back down. I pride myself on stepping up when my team needs me the most.”
The 49ers (15-6, 8-0 Big West) were in desperate need of some type of offensive rhythm tonight, and it finally came in the form of Ware and Ennis.
After the game, LBSU head coach Dan Monson said that Ennis and Ware were the keys to the win.
“Thankfully, James [Ennis] stepped in, and Casper [Ware] is [Big West Conference] Player of the Year for a reason,” he said. “He hit a big three when he hadn’t hit anything, it was a great game.”
Ware finished with 18 points on 4 of 16 shooting, including 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Ware also dished out four assists and snatched four steals.
Ennis chipped in 16 points on 4 of 8 shooting, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Senior forward T.J. Robinson logged another double-double, scoring 10 points while pulling down 15 rebounds.
Senior guard Larry Anderson scored 15 points on 4 of 9 shooting, including 7 of 10 from the charity stripe. Anderson also pulled down 8 boards. Senior forward Eugene Phelps scored 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting and pulled down six boards.
LBSU shot just 39 percent (23 of 59) for the game, and Monson said they had trouble getting in rhythm tonight.
“They [UCR] had us out of rhythm offensively,” he said. “Shots weren’t going, we were turning the ball over and we were out of sync offensively.”
Martin looked to be the only player in rhythm on offense tonight. He finished with a game-high 31 points on 12-20 from the field, including 4 of 7 from behind the arc. He also pulled down 7 rebounds.
UCR (10-10, 4-3 Big West) senior forward B.J. Shearry controlled the paint for the Highlanders. Shearry scored just 7 points, but he grabbed eight big rebounds and blocked a game-high seven shots.
Monson praised the balanced offense that the Highlanders brought to the table.
“You have to give [UC] Riverside credit, they had us out of rhythm offensively,” he said. “[Phil] Martin had us pretty spread out, and [Robert] Smith does a great job of penetrating.”
He added: “They’re a good team. It’s not all what’s wrong with us.”
Ware had the same sentiments regarding the play of UCR.
“We’ve gotta give [UC] Riverside credit, they played good today,” he said.
The ‘Niners will take on Cal State Fullerton in their next Big West contest. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
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