Men's Basketball, Sports

3s rain down in the Pyramid

Box score

Career-highs are becoming habit for the Long Beach State men’s basketball team this season.

Stephan Gilling and the rest of the 49ers only needed one half to put away Cal State Monterey Bay, 96-61, on a rain-soaked Saturday.

Gilling and Greg Plater combined for 45 of the 49ers’ points, with 11 of the pair’s makes coming from behind the arc. Gilling, who had 25 points in the first half, picked up three new career-highs in points (28), 3-point field goals made (8) and field goals made (10).

“I’ve been feeling confident about my shot for about the last three or four games,” Gilling said. “So, every time I let it go I feel likes it’s gonna go in.”

Gilling’s eight 3-point baskets put him in a tie with two others for the LBSU single-game record for 3-pointers made. Tony Darden was the last to accomplish the feat on Dec. 2, 2002 against Pepperdine.

Plater finished with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, with three baskets coming from 3-point range. T.J. Robinson added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Casper Ware pitched in with 10 points. Ware also added a game-high sevens assists and seven rebounds.

LBSU (5-4) won the turnover battle, 21-11, and had 22 assists to just eight for the Otters.

Ware said the shooting of Gilling and Plater makes it easier for the other players to score.

“Everybody’s worrying about what they’re gonna do,” Ware said. “It opens the lane for everybody.”

Jamelle Tolliver paced CSUMB (2-4) with 12 points, and Brandon Ward also contributed 10 points and five rebounds.

The ‘Niners took a 19-4 lead at the 15:36 mark of the first half on Gilling’s third 3-point make of the game. At that point, Gilling had 11 of the 49ers’ 19 points.

On the defensive side, LBSU didn’t allow the Otters to get into double-digits until the 11:56 mark of the first half, but after that CSUMB was able to get into somewhat of an offensive rhythm. The Otters were able to put up 27 points over the next 11 minutes.

“My only disappointment was that … we really wanted to focus on defense,” head coach Dan Monson said. “For the last two days it’s been nothing but defensive practice. … The tell-tale is they shot 50 percent on us in the [first half], and that was the only disappointment in the game.”

LBSU led by as much as 40 points in the second half, but the first-half shooting barrage was too much for CSUMB to overcome in just 20 minutes. Ware added a dunk in the second half that forced the crowd of 2,065 back into the game.

The 49ers held the Otters to just 24 second-half points, due in large part to CSUMB’s dry spell from behind the arc.

The Otters managed to go only 5-of-20 from distance, including 0-for-10 in the second half.

For the second straight game, Larry Anderson was wearing protective eyewear after having Lasik eye surgery to correct his vision.

“Larry’s eyesight was … very poor,” Monson said. “He really squinted and really struggled with his vision.”

Anderson went without the eyewear in the second half, and will most likely not wear them anymore.

LBSU will host Utah State at 7:05 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid on Friday.

 

Comments powered by Disqus

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Daily 49er newsletter

Instagram