Reports From LBSU & Sports Information Director Todd Miles
T.J. Robinson put together another solid effort for Long Beach State but Pacific’s defensive pressure neutralized the rest of the 49ers in a 61-51 Tiger win Saturday night.
Robinson finished with 19 points, on 9-of-14 shooting, and eight rebounds, but the rest of the 49ers combined to make just 10-of-32 field goals. Nobody other than Robinson had more than two field goals. The Beach (14-15, 7-8 Big West) finished making just 41.3 percent of its shots, including a dismal 2-of-16 from three and 11-of-19 from the free throw line.
Pacific also struggled making just 42 percent from the field, but the Tigers (18-10, 10-4 Big West) were 4-of-13 from three and 15-of-21 from the free throw line.
Despite the offensive struggles, Long Beach State trailed by just three with 4:30 to play, but then came the back breaker. Demetrece Young banked in a 3-pointer and was fouled by Stephan Gilling. Young went to the line and completed the four-point play to push the lead to 52-45. Long Beach State would never get closer than six the rest of the way.
“They are a good defensive team,” LBSU head coach Dan Monson said. “The most disappointing thing is because they do a good job of guarding us, we were doing a good job of guarding them, but the frustration of not being able to score leaked into our defense the last couple minutes of the game.”
Young led Pacific with 16 points. Sam Willard added 12 points and seven boards for the Tigers. Casper Ware had nine points for the 49ers, while Arturas Lazdauskas led The Beach with nine boards.
The Beach jumped out to an early lead taking the action at the Tigers. LBSU’s Anderson got fouled twice in the first minute and a half making 2-of-4 free throws and Ware canned a pair of free throws two minutes into the game to build a 4-0 lead. LBSU pushed it to 8-0 with 16:42 to play on a pair of Robinson hoops forcing Pacific to burn a timeout.
The Tigers responded going on a 23-8 run over the next 8:38 to take a 23-16 lead. Demetrece Young sparked the UOP run scoring all 10 of his points in the stretch.
The 49ers rallied down the stretch outscoring Pacific 11-6 in the final 6:44 of the half to trail by just two at the break. Robinson led the 49ers with 12 first half points on 6-of-8 shootings. The rest of the 49ers managed to make just three shots on 17 attempts as The Beach shot just 36 percent in the first half. Minus Robinson, LBSU made just 17.6 percent. The 49ers did make eight free throws (on 13 attempts), five more than Pacific, to keep the game tight. Both teams struggled from three in the first half with LBSU making 1-of-8 and Pacific answering with just 2-of-8.
In the second half, neither team led by more than five until Young’s four-point play.