Men's Basketball, Men's Sports, Sports

‘Niners to host basketball rivals in UCSB

With its regular-season Big West Conference championship hopes dangling by a string, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team will take on UC Santa Barbara in a must-win home game.

Trailing the Gauchos by half a game and UC Irvine by one game in the Big West standings, the 49ers (10-13, 6-3) no longer control their destiny in the conference. However, their path to a Big West title is still relatively simple: win the rest of their games and see UCI lose twice.

None of that will be relevant, though, if LBSU can’t take care of UCSB (15-6, 6-2 Big West) on Thursday.

Armed with big man Al Williams and a surrounding cast of sharp-shooters that include guards Michael Bryson and Kyle Boswell, the Gauchos have become one of the most dangerous teams in the Big West. They are one of only two teams to beat the first-place Anteaters by 20 this season.

Williams will once again be the focus for the 49ers in the paint. The junior center leads the Big West in points and rebounds this season, which was highlighted by a 27-point, 20-rebound performance against UC Davis on Feb. 1. He has scored 20 or more points five games in a row.

“Me and Al Williams are pretty cool; we have a good relationship,” said Dan Jennings, who will likely be matched up on the big man on Thursday. “You just have to have a body on him the whole game and show him different looks defensively. You can’t let him get comfortable in spots that he’s usually used to scoring.”

Monson said that part of the challenge with UCSB is that Williams isn’t the only guy who can make a difference.

“The thing that makes [Williams] so tough is that [the Gauchos] surround him with great shooters,” he said. “We have to be in two places: we have to help with [Williams] and find shooters, and that’s a tough chore.”

While the initial focus this weekend will be on UCSB, the 49ers will also have a rematch with Cal Poly on Saturday.

The Mustangs (8-14, 4-5 Big West) were ranked third in the Big West preseason poll but have hit a slump lately. After winning four of their first five conference games, they have lost their last four.

For the 49ers, the focus will be the same as it is for most mid-major teams: consistency.

“We’re a bad 20 minutes away from our season being over,” Monson said. “Our whole thing is consistency…we’ve had two of the best halves in my seven years here offensively. It’s not that we’re not a good offensive team, it’s that we’re not a consistent offensive team.”

LBSU will try to be consistently good this weekend, starting with Thursday’s 7 p.m. game against UC Santa Barbara. The game against Cal Poly is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

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