The difference between a team that’s learned how to win and a team that hasn’t was laid bare last night at Idaho State, as the Long Beach State men’s basketball team won their second straight overtime contest, and the hosting Bengals lost their third straight extra-minutes match, by a score of 88-82. Donovan Morris and Stephan Gilling, aka the Superman and Batman of the 49ers, were both huge factors in the win, scoring a combined 42.
As exciting as it is that the 49ers have learned to close competitive contests, this match, like Saturday’s victory over Weber State, was not without its problem spots. The Beach went up by fifteen in the first half, 30-15, on the strength of six Gilling three-pointers. Eight minutes later at halftime, the Bengals had gone on a 19-4 run to tie it at 34. Morris was held to one point off of a free throw, the 49ers were 2-7 from the free throw line, and were allowing Idaho State a 48% shooting percentage.
The second half was a see-saw affair, with the Bengals holding the advantage for the majority; they were ahead for the last two minutes of the game, until Morris dropped in two free throws to tie the game, sending it to overtime tied at 63. The first four points for the 49ers were scored by The Big A, Arturas Lazdauskas, and Casper Ware added a layup—but, hitting two foul shots to end the period, the Bengals tied it at 69, and the teams headed for double OT after Morris missed a jumper with time expiring.
With only ten points in the game, and having missed the game-winner, Morris decided it was time to take over. He scored the first 11 points for LBSU, including a 9-3 run in the first two minutes. Long Beach went on to close the game out with a 19-13 advantage in the second OT, winning 88-82.
In addition to the heroics of Morris and Gilling, starting guard Casper Ware had a great night for the 49ers, with 15 points on 6-9 shooting, and four steals. The Beach was outrebounded 46-36 in the game, and gave up 19 second-chance points (while only scoring seven). They showed difficulty in dealing with the Bengals’ big man, Deividas Busma, a 7-footer who scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Coach Monson will want to see more physicality out of his team this Sunday, when the 49ers host New Mexico State at the Pyramid at 4:05pm.