LOS ANGELES – The mission for the Long Beach State men’s basketball team when it headed into Loyola Marymount on Thursday was to contain the “two-headed monster” of Anthony Ireland and Ashley Hamilton.
Mission accomplished.
Four ‘Niners scored in double-figures as the Beach (3-3) defeated LMU (3-4) 73-70 at Gersten Pavilion while holding Ireland, the nation’s ninth-leading scorer (23.5 ppg) to a pedestrian nine points on 4-for-14 shooting. The junior guard did provide a game-high eight assists for the Lions.
Hamilton, the other half of the high-scoring duo, led the game with 17 points, but fouled out of the contest with just over three minutes to play and LBSU leading by just one.
LMU jumped on the ‘Niners early and built a 13-3 lead behind solid 3-point shooting. The Lions’ long-range success would last all night, as LMU shot 52 percent (13-for-25) from beyond the arc.
Senior James Ennis and freshman Deng Deng connected on jumpers to help LBSU score the last five points of the first half and trim its eleven-point deficit to six by the break.
Deng scored a career-high 14 points for The Beach, with none more riveting than a thunderous, breakaway, one-handed dunk which had even the LMU faithful buzzing. He was also fouled on the play but failed to convert the free-throw.
Ennis also scored 14 to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks.
The main factor in the comeback may have been the second half play of Kris Gulley. The sophomore tallied 10 points and seven boards in the second frame, including an offensive rebound and layup down the stretch which gave the Beach its largest lead of the night at 69-64. Gulley compiled a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds on the night.
“It’s important because you’ve got to get back to .500,” Gulley said. “You have to get back to zero before you get to winning. We were losing at first and a lot of it was because of our mental mistakes. We’ve just been trying to fight the mental and play harder.”
In regard to shutting down Ireland, Gulley added: “With a volume shooter like that, you’ve got to get in their head and frustrate them. Make sure every shot is contested. Once the head of the snake’s cut-off, you really can’t keep moving.”
More impressive than Gulley’s stats may be that fact that he was in the lineup at all. He took the court on a sprained left ankle which he injured during yesterday’s practice and has been bracing with a walking boot since.
LBSU head coach Dan Monson credited Gulley for stepping up his game despite the injury.
“He mentally made a big jump today,” Monson said. “To fight through the injury and then to challenge, as he was the one guy that really didn’t rebound at Fresno, to come back and get ten rebounds today, shows that he’s coachable, he’s learning and he’s getting better.”
Mike Caffey was the fourth 49er to contribute double-digits in the scoring column. The sophomore guard put-up a team-high 15 to go along with five assists, including a dish from mid-court following a steal on the Deng jam.
Monson said despite the slow start, the team was able to play together and keep itself in position to win.
“They’re starting to create a little identity,” he said. “We had a really poor start which was really disappointing and we just didn’t have an answer for them early. The biggest thing is they’re creating an identity and staying together through the ups and downs. We’re a young team and it’s easier to learn winning than it is losing.”
Hamilton’s 17 points paced the Lions, and the senior added nine rebounds despite his early exit. Junior Ayodeji Egbeyemi added a double-double with 16 points (including 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point land) and 11 caroms.
The Beach returns to the court Monday when it hosts Fresno State (3-3) at 7:05 p.m. LBSU defeated the Bulldogs 79-71 on Sunday.