There was a strong breeze blowing through the Walter Pyramid on Saturday caused mostly by the Cal State Northridge offense.
The Matadors missed the rim completely on numerous occasions as the Long Beach State defense held CSUN scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half to earn a 65-51 win.
LBSU’s Stephan Gilling broke out of a shooting slump to supply the offense, but it was the 49ers’ defense that really earned them the victory. The Beach (11-12, 5-5 Big West Conference) held CSUN to just two 3-pointers in the game.
Meanwhile, Gilling knocked down four 3-pointers to collect 14 points, 11 of which came in the first half. The senior 3-point specialist earned double-digit points for the first time since a Dec. 23 meeting with Kentucky.
“I’ve been waiting for that game for 10 games now,” Gilling said. “It feels good to hit at least two 3s to put my confidence back up. I’m glad [the shooting slump] happened in the middle of the season, and now I feel that it’s the right time to bring it all back.”
T.J. Robinson led the 49ers on offense with 15 points and eight rebounds, including five boards on the offensive glass. Casper Ware, a game after being hampered by a leg cramp, pitched in with 10 points on 2-of-8 shooting.
The Beach went 7-of-20 from 3-point range as a team, but most of those (6-of-11) came in the first half.
CSUN (9-14, 4-6 Big West) was led by Kenny Daniels’ game-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Daniels didn’t receive much help as Mark Hill was the only other Matador to score in double figures with 10 points.
LBSU added to a seven-point first-half lead when it went on an 8-0 run at the start of the second half. The run was sparked by one of Gilling’s 3-pointers as well as a dunk from Robinson.
The Beach also buckled down on defense during that stretch and the Matadors could never recover from five-plus minutes without a basket. CSUN was only able to get within nine points for the rest of the game.
“I thought our guys executed the game plan defensively pretty well,” head coach Dan Monson said. “And when you get five guys on the same page it’s amazing what you can do. … Games are a lot easier, though, when you get shots to go in.”
Despite the loss to Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, Monson feels the 49ers are beginning to play their best basketball of the season.
“If we play that hard and that together, I think we can become that team that we all hope to be,” Monson said. “I think this game was a step in the right direction … we’re not far off from playing good basketball and being where we need to be.
“I think guys are starting to gel a little bit, and hopefully it’s at the right time.”
The contest got out to a sluggish start as the teams combined to score just nine points through the first five minutes of the game.
The pace picked up and the 49ers’ defense contributed to five air balls for CSUN in the first half. Daniels sparked the Matadors’ offense towards the end of the half when the senior put the team on his shoulders and went on an 8-0 run on his own.
Daniels scored all of his 12 first-half points in the final six-and-a-half minutes.
The 49ers will now go on a two-game road swing beginning with Cal Poly on Feb. 11 at 7:05 p.m. followed by a contest with UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 13.
The road trip will have increased importance as the 49ers currently sit in the middle of the Big West standings with Saturday’s win.
“This is where we really have to stay together,” Gilling said. “We’ve had the crowd and everybody with us … but now we have to really get tight and together because we’re the only ones that we have.”
Gilling added, “Right now we’re a unit, and we have a goal.”
GAME NOTES: Long Beach State retired the No. 32 jersey of former 49er Bryon Russell during halftime of the game.