On Homecoming Night at the Walter Pyramid, it was a game of runs. And did Long Beach State’s men’s basketball team ever have a good one to get themselves back in the game.
The 49ers (1-2) erased a 23-point Weber State lead in the second half to win, 73-69, in overtime Saturday night.
Weber State (1-2) held a 56-35 edge at the 11-minute mark in the second half but a 28-2 LBSU run gave the ‘Niners a five-point lead with 25 seconds to play.
Weber State went 10:56 without a basket until Kellen McCoy’s layup with 14 seconds to go made it a 63-60 LBSU lead.
After an LBSU turnover, McCoy hit a 35-foot 3-pointer from the left side to tie the game as the buzzer sounded, sending the game to overtime.
The raucous Homecoming crowd went from subdued to frenetic to shocked after McCoy’s prayer pierced the net.
“The first 30 minutes they dominated the game,” LBSU head coach Dan Monson said. “We just didnt have an answer for them. That being said, I have to give our guys credit because they didn’t quit.”
The overtime was a see-saw battle but LBSU had the lead the entire time.
LBSU led 69-65 but, after three Wildcat free throws, were ahead by just one.
Maurice Clady’s put-back gave The Beach a 71-68 lead with a minute and a half remaining in overtime.
Daviin Davis made one of two free throws to bring the score to 71-69 with just under 15 seconds left but two Donovan Morris free throws iced it for the 49ers.
“I’ve never had a team come from 23 down but I’ve been doing it a long time now, so never say never,” Monson said.
Monson kept preaching defense and the ‘Niners responded.
“One of our goals tonight was to try and keep them under 60,” he said. “When Weber State got to 56 before the halfway mark of the second half, that seemed highly unlikely.”
Monson didn’t want to deem himself a prophet after saying during a timeout at the 8-minute mark (with the score 56-42): “‘If you keep getting stops, you can still win this game but you got to keep them at 56 a long time.'”
Yet, that’s just what LBSU did and it allowed them to take the lead before the Wildcats finally broke that 60-point barrier but trailed by five.
Morris poured in 20 to lead the 49ers’ second-half barrage. Stephan Gilling knocked down five big 3-pointers down the stretch, including three huge long-range buckets during the big run, to finish with 15.
“I was scared,” Morris said. “I was telling my teammates this can’t keep happening, we have to stop it and we stayed together.
“You can see the outcome of it. I’m just so happy right now I can’t express it.”
Freshman Eugene Phelps, in his first game at the Walter Pyramid, had 13 points and six rebounds and played a lot of big minutes down the stretch.
Steve Panos paced the Wildcat attack with a double-double. He had 15 points and 10 rebounds but they all came in the first 30 minutes. McCoy added 13 points and six steals while Davis scored 12.
A 17-5 run at the end of the first half and beginning of the second gave Weber State a 45-26 lead. Two consecutive Morris baskets were all LBSU could muster in the middle of the spurt.
Despite his struggles from the line, forward Arturas Lazdauskas was active again off the ‘Niner bench, scoring seven points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Unlike its two close losses on the road to start the season, LBSU had the home fans behind them and their effect was not lost on Monson.
“Being at home was a tremendous advantage,” he said. “The crowd was great.”
After turning the ball over just 18 times in those first two games, LBSU matched that number Saturday night.
The ‘Niners also shot just 50 percent (13-of-26) from the free-throw line, but did make 3-of-4 in overtime and still managed to pull out the win.
After leading the entire first 20 minutes at BYU and most of the way at Wisconsin, LBSU got off to a sluggish start and never led in the first half.
The 49ers shot just 8-of-23 in the first half, turned the ball over 10 times and made only 3-of-9 free-throw attempts. Weber State led 32-21 at the half.
LBSU hits the road again for a Tuesday night contest at Idaho State. Tip-off is at 6:05 p.m. The game is a rematch of last November’s nail-biter, which the 49ers won at the Walter Pyramid, 66-61, in overtime.
what was weber state? dumb?
3664 and they were a big reason the comeback was possible. The team really fed off them on both ends of the floor late in the game.
Exciting game and good-sized crowd. What was the attendance figure?
Great article by Tucker. I ‘enjoyed the game’, even though I wasn’t there. Keep up the good work. Hope the rest of the season is just as exciting.
I was at this game!!! This made me so excited about college hoops!