11:00pm | If you’re a Long Beach State men’s basketball fan you’ve been scratching your head a lot this season. Hard to fathom how a program gets slapped by the NCAA, goes out and hires a new coach, wins less than ten games one year, almost wins the Big West regular season title the next year— then this season stays with #2 Kentucky, only to return to California two weeks later to lose handily to UC Riverside and CSU Fullerton.
There’re a million questions to ask about this team— a group that might just be the puzzle that’s all wrapped in that enigma and riddle sandwich. But the squads success can all be boiled down to five questions, and the 49ers answered them last night in their first Big West road win of the season. Casper Ware’s jumper with 11 seconds remaining lifted Long Beach over CSU Northridge, 69-68, to improve to 9-11 and 3-4 in the Big West.
What are the five questions, and where did the answers come from?
#1) Will The 49ers Be Active?
Call it activity, energy, hustle, it doesn’t matter. You know it when you see it, and with this (still very young) team, it’s easy to see early if they will have it or not. So, where was the answer last night?
In the first half Arturas Lazdauskas started an exciting string of plays by taking the charge under the bucket with CSUN leading, 10-9. Larry Anderson would follow it up by swiping the ball away from Kenny Daniels and finding Lazdauskas on the break for two easy points. Anderson used that play to spark his best defensive night of the year, helping the Beach defense hold Daniels (CSUN’s leading scorer) to just seven points on 3-for-10 shooting.
Casper Ware followed Lazdauskas’ lay up with ball pressure on Mark Hill in the backcourt, and caused a traveling violation. One possession later, Andrew Fleming blocked a shot, ran the floor, got the ball on the run and finished to make it 14-9 Long Beach.
Sure, it’s all that work for a measly 4-0 run. But more importantly, that’s four empty trips for Northridge. If guys are hitting the floor and the ball pressure is present before 15 points are scored, the Beach came to play.
#2) What’s The Difference Between The Two Sides Of The Arc?
Not the beginning and end, but instead from behind and in front of. It’s no secret Long Beach State can fall in love with the three point shot, especially when trailing. But trying to shoot your way back into games is a young mistake to make.
The 49ers were 0-for-12 from behind the arc and 10-for-31 from the field in the first half. They scored 27 points.
The 49ers were 2-for-6 from behind the arc and 15-for-35 from the field in the second half. They scored 47 points.
There’s more to life than just living and dying (by the three).
#3) Can The 49ers Rebound?
We’ve seen it in spurts, and assistant coach Vic Couch said it was the key to the game. So, where was the answer? Of all people, it started with Fleming. The fifth-year senior used his six early minutes to snatch three offensive rebounds that all turned into points for the 49ers. From then on T.J. Robinson, Eugene Phelps and the rest of the squad crashed the boards like the game depended on it, and it did. The only reason they were down by just six at the half was because they only allowed six second chance points. And when the game was coming to a close, Anderson and Phelps both got to the line (and made their free throws) after pulling down offensive boards with less than two minutes remaining.
#4) Who Will Catch Fire?
Every good bullpen has a set up man who hands it off to the closer. There is so much talent on this team that it’s hard to assign labels like that. However, it’s easy to see who is stepping up and getting hot, and it’s easy to give them the ball in the bottom of the eight inning with two men on.
Phelps served as the answer last night as he scored 13 of his team-high 18 points in the second half. With Northridge leading 57-53, Phelps missed a free throw but got his own rebound. He gave it out to Ware who went right back to the lane, only to give it off to Phelps for the easy bucket. The sophomore forward came down to the defensive end, stole the ball from Lenny Daniel, then ran the floor with Ware and Anderson and hit the short jumper in transition. Long Beach wouldn’t trail by more than three after that stretch, and that’s when head coach Dan Monson came out to the mound to bring in his closer.
#5) Who Is The Man?
Every team needs a guy to take the ball, even if he blew a save yesterday. That playmaker can be a few guys on this team, but right now it’s Casper Ware. And even though the guard was 1-for-9 last week against UCI and was 1-for-5 before the last minute of play last night, Monson went to his guy. Twice.
With 42 seconds left and trailing by one, Ware crossed over at the top of the key and used his speed to get to the block, rise up, fade away, and kiss it off the glass to give Long Beach a 67-66 lead. CSUN’s Hill answered with a jumper on the other end, but Ware got the call again, and answered, with a pull up jumper off a tough screen with 11 seconds remaining.
And when the Matadors came back down quickly and Vinnie McGhee (who led his team with 17pts) put one off the front iron, what would the 49ers do?
They would go back to #1 on the top of the list. Phelps, Anderson and Robinson worked harder than anyone else on the floor for the final seconds and batted the ball around long enough for time to expire.
Yes, it’s a one-point win over the seventh place team in the conference. But it’s a road win with answers, something that’s been absent so far in 2010. If anything, this is the type of victory that a young, talented, confident, hungry team needs.