Regulation ended with Long Beach State’s starting point guard writhing in pain on the floor. The game ended five minutes later with the Cal State Fullerton players in the stands celebrating a victory with their fans.
The 49ers showdown with CSUF had everything a person would want in a rivalry game, including a rowdy crowd of nearly 5,000 spectators. For the 49ers, though, a win was not in the plans as LBSU gave up 17 points in overtime to drop its second home game of the season, 81-75.
Casper Ware had a chance to win the game in the last seconds of regulation, but cramps hindered his performance down the stretch and prevented the sophomore point guard from getting the game-winning baskett.
Ware tried to go around a screen on the final play of regulation, but the Titans’ defense was in pursuit and forced him to take a jump shot that would come up short. Immediately after the shot attempt, Ware fell to the ground and grabbed the back of his right lower leg and had to helped off the court.
“[The cramping started] with like eight minutes to go in the second half,” Ware said. “We were getting the ball screens and rolling real good all game, so we wanted to run [the clock] down and get a shot under five seconds. I saw the look and I took the shot.”
The 49ers (10-12, 4-5 Big West Conference) played roughly two minutes without Ware in overtime, but by the time he came back the Titans had built a two-point edge that they wouldn’t relinquish.
CSUF (11-10, 5-4 Big West) had gained the advantage with the help of Gerard Anderson and Aaron Thompson, who accounted for 14 of the Titans’ 17 points in overtime.
The crowd of 4, 806 supplied energy all night, but CSUF seemed to feed off it more as it had an answer for every LBSU blow.
“You can’t fault anybody’s effort,” head coach Dan Monson said. “I think our guys were mentally prepared, but it was a very good rivalry game and we didn’t make as many plays as they did.”
The ‘Niners were led on offense by Ware and Larry Anderson with 20 points apiece. T.J. Robinson picked up his Big West-leading 13th double double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Eugene Phelps pitched in with 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
CSUF was led by Aaron Thompson’s game-high 23 points on 8-of-8 shooting, which includes three 3-pointers in the game. Gerard Anderson was second on the team with 12 points.
The Beach used a 15-6 run at the start of the second half to cut down a 12-point first-half lead, but the Titans extended their lead to seven points with less than three minutes remaining in the game.
LBSU would end regulation on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 64 points, which set up Ware’s play at the end of the second half.
CSUF used a 14-1 run at the end of the first half to take the 12-point lead.
The 49ers did most of their damage in the paint (56 points) as their shooting remained cold from outside. LBSU went just 2-for-18 in the contest from beyond the arc and shot 41.2 percent from the free-throw line.
The loss puts the 49ers in a tie for sixth place with Cal State Northridge, who happens to be LBSU’s next opponent. The pair will meet up on Saturday, with tip set for 5 p.m at the Walter Pyramid. Saturday’s contest will be televised on Fox Sports West.