With former head coach Jerry Tarkanian in attendance, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team got a key conference win over an athletic Cal State Northridge team Saturday at the Walter Pyramid.
Dan Jennings provided a force in the paint, and Mike Caffey’s 23 points carried the 49ers offensively on their way to a 76-62 win over the Matadors.
“I thought that was a really good win for us, and one we needed, to hold turf at home,” head coach Dan Monson said. “That team is as talented as any team in the league. It was a good win, and I’m glad we got it because it was a lot closer than a 14-point game.”
LBSU (7-12, 3-2 Big West Conference) and CSUN (10-10, 2-3 Big West) both got off to a sloppy start, as unforced errors on both sides resulted in a total of eight points being scored over the first four minutes.
The only player who seemed to be able to put the ball in the basket for The Beach was Jennings, who scored six of the 49ers’ first eight points.
“Dan [Jennings] impacts the game very well,” Caffey said. “In the Santa Barbara game, he didn’t play in the second half, and it hurt us. At Cal Poly, he was more into it, and he was big for us in these last two wins, rebounding and offensively.”
The 49ers were down by as much as seven points several times in the first half, but they battled back and took a 39-36 lead into halftime.
The first five minutes of the second half belonged to CSUN once again. The Matadors scored 15 points over that time and took a 51-50 lead with 15:29 left on the clock.
“They scored 15 points in the first five minutes of the half, and most of it was just transition or our offense,” Monson said. “I thought the key was, we took care of the ball, ran better offense and got our defense set.”
LBSU took back control and held the lead for good after Caffey made a layup with 10:49 to go. Branford Jones made a couple key shots down the stretch to keep the 49ers’ lead comfortable, and they ultimately emerged with a 76-62 win.
“It was a good team win because we had some help off the bench,” Monson said.
With the win, the 49ers move into a tie for third place in the Big West with UC Santa Barbara and Hawaii. Monson said there was still plenty of work left to do, though, before he could consider the team qualified to move on to postseason play.
“They have the ability to win the league and go to the NCAA tournament, but we’re not there yet,” he said. “We’ve already dug ourselves a pretty good hole in league, and now we’re going to have to go steal some on the road and try to hold serve at home.”
The 49ers will have their road game tested once again this week as they travel to Hawaii for a game on Thursday night. They will then have a quick return trip home, as they will host Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night.