UC Irvine Throws Block Party in Semifinal Win

Courtesy of Zyaire Porter T.G.Sportstv1

Anaheim, Calif. – Defense wins championships, and thanks to the block party that Jonathan Galloway and UC Irvine Anteaters threw in the semifinals of the Big West tournament, they will get an opportunity to play for one as they defeated the Long Beach State 49ers 62-57 on Friday night.

                                   

The Anteaters blocked a season-high 10 shots, which is the second most in Big West Tournament history. Galloway blocked five shots, including a block on a Noah Blackwell drive that stymied a 49er comeback.

“My job, one of them, is to protect the rim,” said Galloway, who scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds. “As long as my team is doing their job, that allows me to defend and stop the ball.”

 Galloway started off the scoring for UC Irvine with two buckets inside, one on a tip and another on a turnaround jumper. Jaron Martin picked up where he left off from the first round by scoring 10 points in the first half that included two three pointers.  Martin, who scored a game-high 18 points, also played a key role on defense with three steals.

“We defend first before we think about the offensive side,” said Martin. “As long as we defend and rebound, the main thing for us is getting back in transition. That’s the emphasis, I think we did that pretty good today and I’m proud of the win.”

49ers' Justin Bibbins, started by missing his first six shots but made his final two of the first half.  Bibbins shot four of 15 in the game. As a whole, Long Beach State only made 32 percent of their attempts.

“That was the whole focus of our defensive game plan in shoot-around today,” said UC Irvine coach Russell Turner. “Defend his (Bibbins) pick-and-roll. He’s crafty… He’s going to be one of the guys favored to be Player of the Year next year.

The 49ers shooting struggles could very well be attested to the defensive play of the Anteaters, who were contesting every 49ers shot not giving a clean look.  UC Irvine led 31-25 at halftime.

Martin made UCI’s first two baskets of the second half and Long Beach State’s deficit, once again, grew to nine points with 17 minutes left in the game, and that’s about the time they started to claw its way back into the contest. They used an 8-0 run to take their first lead since the opening minutes of the game at 46-42.

The Anteaters immediately responded with a seven-point run of their own when Luke Nelson stopped the bleeding with a three pointer followed by a mid-range jumper, he then got out in transition and assisted on a Martin layup.  That was the last lead change as the top-seeded Anteaters continued to come up with stops to close the game.

“They defended us well tonight and we battled, but they were better than us,” said Monson. “In the postseason, any three-minute segment can end your season. That one didn’t end our season because we had opportunities after that, but it changed the momentum of the game.”

In what appeared to be a physical first half, there were only 10 total fouls called. The 49ers only made one trip to the line, which was by Bibbins, who sank the pair; Bibbins later made two more and extended his consecutive made free throw streak to 23. Temidayo Yussuf scored 10 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the 49ers.

Bibbins Scores 27 to Lead 49ers into Semis

Courtesy of Zyaire Porter T.G. Sportstv1

Anaheim, Calif. -- With a big night from Long Beach State 49ers’ point guard Justin Bibbins, they advance to the semifinals of the Big West tournament with a 73-62 win over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. The junior guard took it upon himself to end the season for the Rainbow Warriors with his spectacular play.

“The bigs set great screens on the pick and rolls and got me open for jumpers.” said Bibbins. “I didn’t have to hunt for it, it just came to me within the offense. That’s what is great about this team… It doesn’t matter who is scoring, whoever has the hot hand, that’s who we’re going to. Tonight was just my night.”

First, it was Bibbins weaving through the defense and draining a mid-range jumper then he bounced a no look pass that found Roschon Prince in traffic, which he powered in for a bucket. That was just the start of a 19-2 run during a seven minutes and 18 seconds frame, in which they held Hawaii without a single field goal.

In contrast, Hawaii opened the game by scoring the first five points and look to seize control. For the Rainbow Warriors, it was Gibson Johnson who couldn’t be stopped in the early going, as he set the tone by making his first five baskets. After Johnson cooled off, Noah Allen carried the load for the Rainbow Warriors when he caught fire by scoring 10 consecutive team points in the last four minutes of the first half, including two three pointers. Hawaii held a 35-33 lead at halftime.

Bibbins scored 19 points in the first half on six for seven shooting, including all five of his attempts from the line. He scored nine of the 49ers’ first 13 points, which the 49ers desperately needed him to do because they struggled to put the ball in the basket throughout the first 12 minutes.

“Justin set the tone for us mentally,” said Long Beach State Head Coach Dan Monson. “He came out and was just so impressive offensively. He really carried us until we could get some other guys comfortable in the flow.”

The second half played out just like most of the game did, with the teams continuing to trade baskets. Only this time around, it was Long Beach who used a 15-6 run to take a lead they wouldn’t give up.

Hawaii 6-0 run to tie the game at 54 at 10-minute mark to make things interesting but a Bibbins jumper ended their hopes and it also jumpstarted an 10-0 run that put the 49ers in complete control of the game to easily close it out.

Bibbins was a perfect 9-9 from free throw line in the game en route to his game-high 27 points. He has now made 21 consecutive from the charity stripe.  Barry Ogalue was a perfect 7-7 from the floor in scoring 16 points. Temidayo Yussuf was also perfect from the floor; he made all four of his shots and added nine rebounds.

Long Beach State has advanced to the semifinals in eight of the last nine years.

Long Beach State 49ers 81, UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 76

Courtesy of Zyaire Porter/T.G.Sportstv1

49ers Earn Tough Win Over Gauchos in Big West Play

Long Beach, Calif.-The Long Beach State 49ers defeated the University of California, Santa Barbara Gauchos 81-76 on Thursday night to notch their second conference win of the season at the Walter Pyramid.

Forward Temidayo Yussuf led the 49ers with 25 points on the night. The sophomore big man could not be contained, as he shot 10-12 from the field.  With the 49ers clinging on to a two-point lead with close to a minute left, they went to what worked for them all night long – pounded it inside to Yussuf.

“I was trying to bring him back [into the game earlier] but every time there was a dead ball, we were on the defensive end,” said Long Beach State Head Coach Dan Monson.

The 49ers won both games against the Gauchos last season, and were desperate to get this much-needed victory to boost their confidence and move up in the Big West standings. To say Long Beach State has fallen short of expectations is an understatement; they were the consensus choice to win the league.  

“The biggest thing for this team right now was to get the taste of some wins,” said Monson. “And that was a good taste for them. Hopefully, we can build on it.”

Yussuf was the main offense for Long Beach State in the early going; he scored 10 of his team’s first 18 points in the game.  Yussuf’s physical play wore down the Gauchos; his aggressiveness set the tone for 49er guards to take over the game.

“It was more of me getting into the flow of it,” said Yussuf. “Once we focus in and lock in as a team, we’re pretty much the best team in the league.”

Trailing by one, Loren Jackson stroked a three pointer to give The Beach a 23-21 lead; he then followed it up by taking charge on the ensuing defensive possession. Noah Blackwell stole the ball on the next defensive possession and found Evan Payne down the court for dunk. Payne, who scored 15, then followed up the crowd pleaser with a three pointer of his own.

Not to be outdone by his teammates, Blackwell also made a three, this one on the break; he had a final stat line of 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Yussuf scored his 10th point in the mix of that sequence, and by the end of it, the 49ers found themselves in control of the game after a 15-2 run.

The Gauchos took advantage of 14 made free throws in the first half to stay within 10 points at the break.

The second half opened up similar to start of the game, with the 49ers dumping it inside. This time it was to Roschon Prince, who finished with 14 points and a game-leading 10 boards.

Gauchos’ guard, Gabe Vincent, got hot early in the second half after not making a basket in the first period and kept Gauchos in game; he made four of five baskets early in the half and tagged his backcourt mate Eric Childress, who took over and scored nine points in four-minute span, including a personal 6-0 run to draw the game even, at 68. Vincent then fouled out at 4:35 mark.

“We weren’t even trying to attack him. I didn’t know he had four fouls,” said Monson. “He’s an all-league player… he didn’t have a field goal in the first half but a good player like that, he sees one go down… and that lit him up.”

The lead changed twice over the next two minutes. A pair of free throws by Prince put the 49ers up 76-74. With the game still in balance and tension in the arena, the home team needed to go to what was working well for most of the night – Yussuf.  The big man went up strong to convert a layup with two Gauchos draped on him to put 49ers up by four and secured a win.

Childress led the Gauchos with 17 points, Vincent scored 16, and Alex Hart contributed 14 points with 10 rebounds. Long Beach State plays at Cal Poly on Saturday.

Long Beach State Defeats Cal State Los Angeles in Season Opener

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The Long Beach State 49ers raced past the California State University, Los Angeles Golden Eagles for a 95-59 victory in their season opener Friday night in Long Beach. The 49ers are the favorites to win the Big West Conference and their display against the Eagles confirms the preseason selection.

Leading the way for The Beach was point guard Justin Bibbins, who filled the score sheet with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Bibbins was a Second Team All-Conference selection a season ago.

"Justin is an elite player in this league," said Coach Dan Monson. "He can play with anybody in this country. We're going to give him an opportunity to go prove it."

Over the past seven seasons, Long Beach State has ranked no lower than sixth in the nation in non-conference strength of schedule, according to Ken Pomeroy's ratings. The 49ers will immediately go on the road to play four teams who played in the NCAA tournament last year; they have Wichita State, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 14 Louisville, and No. 20 UCLA.

"We needed some confidence to buy into what works," said Monson. "Now we're going to get tested. They need to know what it's like to be at that level. That's the level we want to be, at the end of the season. No matter what happens, we're going to come back a better basketball team at the end of this week and that's why we play this schedule."

Friday night was the first time the two schools played each other since the 1992 season. Cal State L.A. was essentially a tune up for Long Beach State. The up-tempo style employed by Monson's team made it hard for the Eagles to keep up with. The 49ers continued to pound the ball inside and attack the rim; Long Beach State dominated the Points in Paint category 52-18. 

Defensively, the 49ers applied pressure via the full-court press after made free throws and perimeter traps, which forced turnovers and resulted in easy transition points. Long Beach State led 51-38 at halftime and came out of the break turning up the pressure. One two-minute run of play featured Loyola Marymount transfer Evan Payne break away for three dunks to stretch the lead to 64-45 to put the game away. Payne was the game's high scorer with 15 points.

"I think [Payne] showed a level of comfort," said Monson. "He's been so locked-in to try to do what we ask of him defensively, he hasn't been comfortable on offense. Today he got out in the open court. He's as good as any player I have had in the open court."

The contributions from the visitors were minimal, aside from a crowd-pleasing dunk from Desean Scott in the first quarter of the game that provided the crowd in arena with much-needed energy, and ironically fueled a 49er's run to close out the first half.

The 49ers had two other players score in double figures, forwards Yussuf Temidayo and Gabe Levin, with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Overall, Monson utilized 14 players in this game, with 10 of them playing at least 10 minutes. Long Beach State is going to need all hands on deck to come back from this road trip with positive results.