Health & Fitness
Both Long Beach Teams Make Big West Semifinals
Men's team Cruise past UC Davis 80-46, while the Women's team needed to overcome a 19-point second half deficit to upset Cal State Northridge 57-52
Cal State Long Beach’s men's and women’s basketball
teams each made the semifinals of the Big West Tournament--to
be played Friday at Anaheim's Honda Center.
The mens' victory was big but the women's team upset the 2nd-ranked team in a stunning win Thursday night.
On Friday, the women’s game will tip-off at noon, and the men’s game will start at 6:30 p.m. The men's games will be televised on ESPNU.
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The Long Beach State men’s basketball team led wire to wire as it easily dispatched the UC Davis Aggies 80-46. It was a game which the 49ers dominated points in the paint 38-16, and especially points off turnovers. Long Beach scored 31 points off of 20 UC Davis turnovers.
"Now we know why they won our conference this year,” Davis head coach Jim Les said. “They have many weapons. We tried to take out Casper Ware, but other players stepped up. They’re a very good team and a much underrated defensive team.”
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Eugene Phelps led five 49ers in double figures with a game-high 18 points (including 10 from inside the paint), five rebounds, two assists and a steal. TJ Robinson added 12 points and eight rebounds while James Ennis, Casper Ware, and Peter Pappageorge all dropped 11. Ennis also contributed defensively with nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal for the Beach.
“It feels really good,” Phelps says about being the go-to guy. “My teammates look for me, and I delivered.”
Head 49er Coach Dan Monson said, “Recently we have been emphasizing trying to get the ball inside,” and Gene is taking advantage.
Davis got as close as 12-15 on two Eddie Miller free throws with 10:20 remaining in the half, but then Long Beach would pull away using a 26-9 run to take a commanding 41-21 lead going into halftime.
Miller finished with 17 points, despite going 7 of 21. Tyler Les added nine points, while JT Adenrele tallied six points for the Aggies in the losing effort.
“Give them credit,” Miller said. “They’re a great defensive team. Many of my shots were contested. My hat's off to them.”
Long Beach takes on UC Irvine, which upset #2-seeded Cal State Fullerton 65-59 in an earlier quarterfinal matchup.
“We know it’s going to be a dogfight out there,” Monson said. “We will be ready for them tomorrow night.”
It is not a surprise that the men’s team advanced. But Long Beach's women’s team victory was a true upset. Seeded #7, the women's 49ers were able to overcome a 19-point second half deficit Tuesday night, as they upset the second-seeded Cal State Northridge Matadors 57-52 to advance to tomorrow’s semifinal game against top-seeded Cal Poly.
The two teams split the two meetings this year, each winning at home. The win over Northridge is the Beach’s first postseason victory since 2007.
Long Beach held Northridge to a miniscule 23.1% on 6 of 21 shooting in the second half, forcing 10 Northridge turnovers.
Tipsea Moorer led the way with 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Beach. Lauren Spargo pitched in 11 points off the bench, while Devin Hudson added nine points and seven rebounds.