Long Beach State is making nail-biters a habit, and on Sunday evening in the ‘Myd, Donovan Morris’ season-high 30 points helped the 49ers seal up and mail in their third straight victory, this one over New Mexico State, 82-77.
The wins over Weber State and Idaho State both came in overtime, as Long Beach couldn’t seem to close it out in regulation. Weber hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send it into the extra period, and in Idaho tied on free throws, and then went to double OT when Morris missed a short jumper.
On Sunday, it was 36-35 Aggies at the break and the second half had another overtime written all over it.
With five ties and 16 lead changes, it ended up being the Long Beach defense that tipped the scales. Trailing 75-71 with 2:16 remaining in the game, Morris and freshman guard Casper Ware led a 9-0 run that included four steals from the 49ers, two from Ware. On his first steal, Ware looked down-court and found freshman Larry Anderson for the two-handed dunk that made it 78-75 Long Beach.
New Mexico’s Gordo Castillo made two free throws for the Aggies to trim the lead to 80-77 with 29 second remaining. However, Ware’s second steal and two free throws for the 49ers with six seconds left sealed the win. The Aggies didn’t make a field goal after the 2:18 mark of the second half.
“We were able to set the defense tonight,” said coach Dan Monson, whose under-sized squad outrebounded New Mexico State 31-28 and shot 61 percent (14-23) in the second half. “We finished the war on the boards.”
The 49ers finished the war at the foul line as well, something the team has struggled with early in the season. Long Beach switched the swag up and went 20-for-26 last night, and Ware’s two at the end of the game proved invaluable.
“I wasn’t nervous,” said Ware, who finished with 15 points and six rebounds. “Coach puts more pressure on us in practice.”
While Ware was making the all-important free throws, Morris and Anderson were sharing a chuckle at half court, and interestingly enough, that’s the way this team likes it. They just play better when they are loose and having fun.
“Pracitice is hard,” said Morris, who made 9 of 16 shots, including four 3-pointers. “The games are what’s fun.”
Long Beach started the night hot, jumping out to a 16-7 lead at the 15 minute mark after a Cornel Williams three pointer. Midway through the first half though, the Aggies went on a 13-0 run to erase a nine-point deficit. Hamidu Rahman’s two free throws gave New Mexico State a 23-19 lead.
The Aggies increased their lead to 30-22 on a basket by Wendell McKines. McKines made 8 of 10 shots and scored 16 points in the opening half for the Aggies. However, Morris scored nine of his 14 first-half points in the final three and 1/2 minutes of the half, including a 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining, to cut the New Mexico State lead to 36-35 at intermission.
Includes Reports From LBSU