A lackluster second half performance from the Long Beach State men’s basketball team allowed Fresno State to exact some revenge on the back end of a home-and-home set.
After defeating the Bulldogs (4-3), 69-61, just over a week ago on the road, The Beach (3-4) fell 64-59 at the Walter Pyramid on Monday night.
Despite a six-point halftime lead and a career-high 23 points and 13 rebounds from senior guard James Ennis, LBSU just couldn’t keep pace with Fresno after the break.
“The loss is tough because we’re not holding a winning streak, and we lost on our home floor,” Ennis said. “We had no urgency, didn’t smell blood. We were up; we should have come out and kept on punching them. We let back and they took advantage. We just have to move on and prepare ourselves for Syracuse.”
Ennis also tallied two assists, two blocks and a steal.
Three-point shooting was the difference in the second half, as the Bulldogs connected on five of their nine shots from behind the arc. The 49ers, on the other hand, failed to get even one of their seven 3-point shots to drop.
Tyler Johnson, who has averaged 7.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per contest for Fresno State, torched The Beach for 19 points and five rebounds while draining three of his six shots from long range.
The junior guard put an unofficial seal on the contest with a breakaway dunk that gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the night at 62-54.
The ‘Niners shot a woeful 54.5 percent (18-for-33) from the free-throw line and committed 15 turnovers on the night.
LBSU head coach Dan Monson said the team took a step back in terms of finding its identity after winning back-to-back games for the first time this season. He added that even with a daunting weekend schedule including matchups at No. 4 Syracuse and No. 7 Ohio State, the season is not decided until Big West Conference play begins.
“Those games aren’t going to define our year; even this game is not going to define our year,” he said. “Who we are is going to be defined by how we play in January, February and March.”
Monson also attributed the adjustment period to the fact that the squad is still trying to learn how to play with one another.
“Learning to get there is not going to be a direct line,” he said. “It’s just too many new parts and too many new roles for guys. Unfortunately we took a big step back tonight, but that’s going to happen with a new group like this. They did a good job the last two games of digging games out and they let one go today. It’s part of the pre-season and getting better.”
The Beach will now travel to New York for a matchup at Syracuse on Thursday. The game will be televised on ESPN 2.