The Long Beach State men’s basketball blitzed UC Davis with a 41-13 run to end the first half en route to its fourth Big West Conference win in as many games Saturday night.
The 49ers held on to top the Aggies, 86-78, to keep their perfect conference record alive.
“I think the last 17 minutes of the first half were our best stretch of the season,” LBSU head coach Dan Monson said in a press release.
Senior Donovan Morris netted 15 of his 27 points in the opening half, converting on 6-of-9 attempts and 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
During the outburst, the ‘Niners made a blistering 81 percent (17-of-21) of the their shot attempts.
The freshmen trio of Larry Anderson, Casper Ware and Eugene Phelps combined for 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting, eight assists and four steals in the first half. Phelps, who led the freshmen in scoring in the half, recorded 11 of his 13 before the intermission. Anderson finished with 13 points, six assists and four steals, while Ware chipped in 11 points, four assists and a steal.
Fellow freshman T.J. Robinson added 12 points — 10 in the first half — and four rebounds.
LBSU (9-7, 4-0 Big West) torched UC Davis with 67.7 percent shooting in the first half and finished the game at 56.4 percent.
UC Davis (6-10, 1-2 Big West) was held to 30 points in the first half despite making 54.5 percent of its shots. The Aggies converted 55.2 percent of their shots in the contest.
“We are elated with the sleep,” Monson said. “In a sick way, as coach, I’m happy the second half was such a struggle because it’s a great learning tool. The road games you need to keep playing.”
The 49ers return to the Walter Pyramid next Saturday to face CS Northridge at 4:05 p.m.
The Matadors, the preseason pick to win the conference, will likely be without leading scorer Deon Tresvant, who allegedly stole more than $6,000 of merchandise from a Porter Ranch Best Buy along with teammate Dallas Rutherford and Jeffrey Braswell, the son of head coach Bobby Braswell.
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