The first game of the season. The first ranked opponent in the Pyramid since 2004. The highest expectations on both programs in several years.
It has all the makings of a classic, and the fact that today’s game has sold out to absolute capacity is an indicator that there’s a lot at stake. The Long Beach State men’s basketball team will open their season today not with a cupcake opponent to simply appease the fans, but a program on the rise and a national contender in #25-ranked San Diego State at 4:00pm. It’s a statement game, that the 49ers are dedicated to building something special, and they’re not backing down from anyone.
Students have been camping out at the Pyramid since yesterday, and the parking lot is already crowded with tailgaters and partiers to celebrate Homecoming. The real fireworks will be inside the stadium, as we find out what the 49ers are really made of as they try to make good on their goal of winning the Big West Conference and earning the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2007.
Can’t make it today? We’ll be live-blogging the entire game right here, like we did all through last season. Stay tuned to LBPOSTSports.com, bringing you news and analysis from Long Beach State basketball like nowhere else.
Predictions? Thoughts? Concerns? Voice them in the comments section below and let’s keep a running dialogue going.
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5:00 to tip-off
San Diego State definitely has the size advantage over Long Beach State, which is a concern for 49er fans because they don’t give up any athleticism with that size. This could turn into a dunk-a-thon for either team so whoever comes out with defensive intensity will have the early upper hand.
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1:00 to tip-off
Extremely rowdy visiting crowd for San Diego State and the sold-out stadium is trying to counter with a packed Long Beach State student section. It may be a road game for the Aztecs but they have plenty of support. Both teams are hyped in warmups and ready to get things going.
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Your Starters:
San Diego State
G – D.J. Gay
G – Chase Tapley
F – Kawhi Leonard
F – Malcolm Thomas
F – Billy White
Long Beach State
G – Casper Ware
G – Greg Plater
G – Larry Anderson
F – Eugene Phelps
F – T.J. Robinson
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11-7 Long Beach, 15:52 1st – The 49ers come out hot with three-pointers from Greg Plater, Larry Anderson and T.J. Robinson (believe it or not). Long Beach has already thrown several defensive looks at the Aztecs to shake things up. San Diego very quick offensively, but on their heels a little bit with the 49ers’ hot shooting.
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18-12 Long Beach, 12:00 1st – Getting our first look at Tristan Wilson and Edis Dervisevic as 49ers. Backdoor cut and lay-in for Wilson, who has also been extremely active on the boards early. So far so good.
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27-22 San Diego, 7:00 1st – Big run by the Aztecs to take the lead on back-to-back fast breaks. This is the point where last season the 49ers would try to three-point shoot their way back into the game. It rarely worked and they should match San Diego ‘s intensity and attack the basket. Let’s see how they handle it.
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29-25 San Diego, 6:42 1st – Already three turnovers for Casper Ware. Not a good sign. All of San Diego’s guards are just as quick as he is. The 49ers need precision on offense and Anderson draws a foul with a strong attack on the basket.
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39-32 San Diego, 3:49 1st – Aztec guard Kawhi Leonard is a fantastic player, blocking a Casper Ware lay-in and then scoring a tough shot in transition with contact from Tristan Wilson. Aztecs fight off seven straight points from Ware to keep momentum going.
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42-37 San Diego, 2:00 1st – Larry Anderson takes advantage of a screen-roll mismatch and attacks to draw the foul. An aggressive Anderson is a better Long Beach State. Leonard answers for SDSU.
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42-42 HALFTIME – I have all kinds of thoughts on the first half, but all I can think about right now and all you need to know is that Casper Ware just threw the sickest alley-oop to T.J. Robinson for a two-handed jam over two San Diego defenders to tie the game. Fantastic game so far, both teams are playing very crisp basketball. We are in for a great second half.
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50-46 San Diego, 15:44 2nd – Really tight wire-to-wire action with neither team giving an inch. San Diego takes the lead on two easy buckets from Leonard and Malcolm Thomas when the 49ers fell asleep in transition. Long Beach has had open shots but are simply missing. They’ll need to get back into a rhythm after this media timeout.
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54-53 San Diego, 11:00 2nd – Ware taken out limping, could it be the calf cramps that plagued him last year? He’s one of three 49ers in double figures but perhaps most importantly, Long Beach hanging with San Diego on the boards 24-27.
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65-57 San Diego, 7:22 2nd – The 49ers miss defensive rotations on consecutive San Diego possessions and guard James Rahon makes them pay with back-to-back threes. We’re a little quicker with the updates on Twitter at @LBPOSTSports
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73-63 San Diego, 2:41 2nd – San Diego really clicking offensively. It will take the 49ers playing above themselves to come back.
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77-65 San Diego, 1:00 2nd – Really well-played game by Long Beach but it looks like fatigue was too much to overcome as the starting five logged a ton of minutes tonight. They just didn’t have it defensively down the stretch and San Diego State took advantage, as good teams do.
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81-65 San Diego FINAL – Great showing by Long Beach State against a ranked opponent in the opening game of the season. The Aztecs were deeper and simply pulled away from the fatiguing 49ers. It helps when you have a star like Kawhi Leonard. For the 49ers, an encouraging way to start the season. We’ll have full articles and highlight video later on tonight.