The Long Beach State men’s basketball team earned a dramatic win over Hawaii on Thursday, but the momentum didn’t carry over to Saturday, as the 49ers fell flat in a loss to Cal State Fullerton.
The weekend started off on an exciting note for the 49ers (13-15, 9-5 Big West). After trailing for most of the game against Hawaii (19-9, 8-6 Big West), they caught up and had an opportunity to win it in the final minute. Head coach Dan Monson called timeout and set up the play, which resulted in Travis Hammonds draining a 3-pointer from the corner, giving LBSU a 63-61 win.
“They came out of the timeout and executed that play to perfection,” Monson said. “I told Travis [Hammonds], ‘I don’t care if it’s a three, if you’re open, shoot it.’”
Hammonds also made plenty of hustle plays earlier in the game despite taking an elbow to the nose at one point.
“I was thinking, ‘I haven’t hit a big shot all night,’” Hammonds said. “But big time players make big time plays…It feels good.”
The win put the 49ers in a tie for second in the Big West conference, but it wouldn’t last long. Hammonds was also diagnosed with a concussion after the game and had to sit out the remainder of the weekend.
Two days later, the 49ers traveled to Fullerton to take on the Titans (11-17, 6-8). Despite getting off to a strong start and leading 19-5 early on, LBSU couldn’t put the game away.
The Titans made the most of turnovers by LBSU and found a groove from behind the arc in the second half, making 15 points on five threes in a row at one point. They expanded their lead to as much as 15, but a late run by the 49ers cut it to single digits.
LBSU’s effort wasn’t enough to erase the deficit, though, and it lost 84-76.