Midway through the first half of Long Beach State’s men’s basketball alumni game Saturday, former 49er Terrence O’Kelley yelled from the bench across the court at a player who had just missed a shot.
“You’re making us look old!”
Alumni from as far back as the early ’80s took the court at the Walter Pyramid. For every airball there was a smile, and for every turnover there was a laugh in a lighthearted game that ended in an 84-84 tie.
Former LBSU greats like Bryon Russell and Ed Ratleff showed up for the alumni game, with Russell still draining threes on the court and Ratleff electing to watch from the bench. Russell, who said he hadn’t even shot a basketball in more than a year, hit a buzzer-beating three at the end of the first half, showing off a bit of the shooting stroke that earned him a 13-year career in the NBA.
He also had his fair share of shots that didn’t go in, though, and he laughed about it between plays.
“The airballs hurt,” Russell said. “I gotta hit the rim.”
Russell was one of more than 30 alumni that played in or attended the game, which was organized by former team manager Kevin Fong. Fong said the game was the culmination of a four-month process of emails, texts and phone calls to players from across the country.
“The turnout was better than I thought,” he said. “We went out last night to Legends and shared some memories. It was like we never left college.”
The general sentiment was that the game should become an annual event, with Russell and Athletics Director Vic Cegles both saying it needed to be the next LBSU tradition.
“We have such an outstanding tradition here, and we need to honor it,” Cegles said. “These guys enjoy each other’s company … They’re proud to be 49ers. We have to do it every year.”
The game itself was about as exciting as anyone could hope for.
The Black-jersey team jumped out to an early lead behind nine points from 2007-10 center Andrew Fleming. Thanks to contributions from Russell, O’Kelley and a handful of other former 49ers, the Black team led 48-30 at one point.
The Gold team stormed back, though, ultimately tying the game a 78. They exchanged points until the Black team went ahead 84-81 with the clock winding down.
It was then that 1994-96 point guard Rasul Salahaddin nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game at 84 and provide a fitting ending to a game that was as fun as it was competitive.
“I wish we could have played five more minutes, but that’s fine,” Russell said. “We all enjoyed it, we had fun, and nobody got hurt … this was the first of many [alumni games]. We really need to do it again. It brings everybody together.”
Following the alumni game, the current LBSU team took the court for its second scrimmage of the year. The team also scrimmaged on Oct. 12, and head coach Dan Monson said he saw improvement between the two games.
“I think this week we executed better, defended better, rebounded better,” he said. “That’s all you can look for at this time of year, going week to week, because we’re not even close to where we need to be … last week it was scary how far we had to go, and this week it’s just frightful — frightful more than scary.”
Forward Christian Griggs-Williams, a transfer from Mesa Community College, led the way for the Black team with 19 points.
The Black team, which also featured Mike Caffey, Kris Gulley and former 49er Larry Anderson, came back from a four-point halftime deficit to beat Dan Jennings, Tyler Lamb and the rest of the Gold team, 79-77.