The Long Beach State men’s basketball team has been haunted by slow starts. In the final game of the Advocare Invitational, Long Beach took on Nebraska in hopes of a fifth place finish in the tournament Sunday.
A lackadaisical start to the first and second half ruined the 49ers’ chances at a major comeback win. Down by as much as 21 points in the first half, Long Beach sparked many scoring runs throughout the game but fell short, losing 85-80.
While LBSU (3-4) started off without much energy, Nebraska held a double-digit lead for the majority of the first half. After a quick 8-0 run by the Cornhuskers, Long Beach found itself in a 38-19 hole with 7:55 left to play in the first half. The team committed seven turnovers before forcing Nebraska into a single turnover.
With 3:35 left before halftime, the 49ers would respond with an 8-0 run of their own and only trailed by nine points at the break. Coming out of the break, Nebraska continued the back and forth scoring runs. The Cornhuskers scored the first 10 points to begin the second half and took a 59-40 lead.
The 49ers didn’t give up, cutting a 20-point Nebraska lead down to five points with seven minutes remaining. Unable to capitalize off of turnovers down the stretch, Long Beach was never able to pull within three points.
While Sunday’s game was a loss for the team, several players had very impressive individual stat lines. Senior forward Gabe Levin led the team in scoring with 22 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
Junior forward Mason Riggins continued his consistent play, going 7-for-10 from the field as he posted a new career-high with 14 points and seven rebounds. The starting post player for the 49ers impressed fans in the HP Fieldhouse with several powerful dunks off of screens.
Junior point guard Deishuan Booker put out his second consecutive double-double with 15 points and 12 assists. A team-high 10 turnovers limited Booker’s effectiveness and the team finished with a total of 21 turnovers on the day.
Next up for the 49ers is a road matchup against the Arizona Wildcats at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The game will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.