Junior guard A.J. Spencer scored 13 points in his homecoming Sunday, but the Long Beach State men’s basketball team fell to Kansas State on the road, 71-58.
Spencer made his first start of the season an hour away from his hometown of Shawnee, Kansas, and he made the most of it. The Hutchinson College transfer got to the free-throw line a team-high nine times and converted seven of his attempts on his way to a season-high 13 points in Manhattan, Kansas.
With the exception of a double-double by Dan Jennings, the rest of the 49ers didn’t fare so well.
LBSU (1-3) got off to another slow start, this time falling behind Kansas State 17-7 less than nine minutes into the game. Any attempt to close the gap by halftime was negated when Wildcats guard Marcus Foster hit a pair of threes to open up a 20-point lead just before the break.
The 49ers ultimately went into the locker room at halftime down 39-22.
LBSU looked like a different animal when it emerged for the second half. Jennings scored eight straight points to keep the 49ers competitive, and point guard Branford Jones drained two 3-pointers in a row to narrow the deficit to 15 with 12:57 remaining.
Kansas State (2-1) didn’t give any more ground, though, and it remained in control to come out on top, 71-58.
Jennings led the 49ers with 14 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double in four games. He helped LBSU earn a 40-29 rebounding advantage over Kansas State, but Foster’s 17 points and Shane Southwell’s 14 proved to be too much for the 49ers to overcome.
Despite Spencer’s 7-for-9 performance from the free-throw line, LBSU finished with a 53.3 shooting percentage on free throws. The 49ers otherwise had a decent shooting night, making 40 percent of their shots.
The 49ers won’t get any break from the road, as they will spend a day in Kansas City to practice before flying to Puerto Rico, where they will face No. 7 Michigan in the the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Thursday.