Right: Junior guard Casper Ware dunks during his scoring outburst in the second half. Photo courtesy Long Beach State Athletics Department.

What a way to stop a losing streak. In front of an electric home crowd of 5,040 – the second largest for a basketball game in the Walter Pyramid ever – the Long Beach State 49ers avenged their loss to the Fullerton Titans last week with a 75-60 drubbing, sparked by a scoring outburst from point guard Casper Ware.

The speedy junior posted 16 points, including four 3-pointers, in less than five minutes to begin the second half. He finished with a game-high 21. It was a fitting performance from a player who has been nothing short of heroic for the 49ers this season.

Head coach Dan Monson couldn’t hold back a smile.

“I like Casper,” he said, grinning. “He’s my guy. He sets a great tone.”

On the 49ers’ first possession in the second half, Ware nailed a fading 3-pointer in the corner right in front of the Long Beach bench. He then made another three, was fouled on a three attempt and made all free throws, and then made yet another three.

Minutes later, Ware stepped in front of a Fullerton pass with a clear path to the basket. With a little extra bounce in his 5’9” step, he cleared for takeoff and extended for a strong dunk that sent the yellow-clad crowd into a frenzy.

After two more Ware free throws, the Long Beach lead had extended from 8 points to 20 points in less than five minutes. Fullerton would work the margin down to 9 points, but this was a 49er kind of night. Junior swingman Larry Anderson also posted an impressive night with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals while power forward Eugene Phelps notched a double-double with 12 and 12. Long Beach brought the game home for a 75-60 victory.

The win ended a two-game skid and solidified the 49ers’ place atop the Big West Conference standings, moving them to 8-2 with second place Northridge way behind at 5-3, and a three-way tie for third place. The 49ers have nearly two weeks off before their next game at UC Davis on February 10.

After the game, Ware and the 6’6” Anderson sounded like co-point guards as they talked about their concerted effort to work the ball inside, and push in every transition opportunity. “It makes us that much better that he can handle the ball, too,” said Ware. “Whenever we get [the ball], we just go,” said Anderson, who played 35 minutes on a painful left foot injured earlier in the day in practice. X-rays came back negative, but Monson said that he wasn’t sure if Anderson would play until he suited up. “I knew it wasn’t really gonna bother me once I got going,” he said.

Anderson had plenty more to say, too. When a reporter asked Ware whether his recent play should be enough to earn a spot among the ten soon-to-be announced finalists for the Bob Cousy award for the best point guard in the nation, Anderson stole the pass.

“Yes!” he said.

What Worked: Pretty much everything, particularly on defense. The stat box isn’t an eye-popping landslide, but on the court the 49ers controlled every facet of the game. Fullerton actually jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the game, but once Long Beach came down from the excitement there was no containing them. Monson said that the team’s defensive measuring stick is to have three consecutive defensive stops at least seven times in the game. Saturday night, Monson said, “There were seven strings, and three or four of them were lengthy.” There was just more activity, and certainly more than when the 49ers fell to the Titans 89-87 just ten days ago. They handled the pick-and-roll expertly, doubled when appropriate but didn’t allow any open jump shots in the process. As a result, Fullerton shot just 38.1% for the game, and 5-17 from 3-point range. Three of the four Titans who average double figures in scoring did not reach ten points against the 49ers.

What Didn’t: Long Beach missed a lot of open shots, especially in the first half, but that wasn’t such a bad thing because it at least showed that offensively they were getting good looks. It was more a matter of waiting for them to actually make those same shots, and that eventually came in the second half. A little more concerning is that the 49ers scored just 30 points in the paint, which isn’t much for a team known for attacking the basket against an opponent that is very short inside (Fullerton is last in the conference in blocked shots). Notably, forward T.J. Robinson scored just 5 points on 1-6 shooting. Granted, teams across the Big West are keying on Robinson and making other players beat them, which opens lanes for guys like Ware, Anderson and Phelps. But those are still not numbers that you expect from a guy predicted to challenge for Conference Player of the Year. The good news is that the 49ers are beating teams in a variety of ways. Opponents are keying on Robinson inside and senior sharpshooter Greg Plater on the outside… for now. How long before the focus shifts to Ware and Anderson? And when they do, you know that Robinson and Plater will be licking their chops.