It’s too early to tell for sure, but Long Beach State’s convincing 80-58 home victory over UC Davis makes you wonder whether the team hadn’t struggled to their 2-4 conference record so much as they just took a Winter vacation.

Class was certainly back in session on Saturday afternoon, as the 49ers looked like a team with as much ability as anyone – moving with efficiency and decisiveness on offense, while holding the Aggies to 29.6% shooting in the second half. The victory was Long Beach State’s second straight, and they now stand at 4-4 in Big West play.

“I think we played probably close to one of our better games,” head coach Dan Monson said. “All of a sudden you get a little swagger and confidence back.”

Sophomore forward Eugene Phelps continued his rapid development, scoring a career high 21 points with a variety of low post twists and spins. Junior guard Greg Plater continued his hot shooting with 16 points on four 3-pointers, as the two broke out of their role player mold to carry the 49er offense.

“It’s a growing up thing,” Plater said of his team’s improved play in the last week. “We haven’t gotten to the level that we need to be but we’re getting better.”

Larry Anderson scored 12, while T.J. Robinson added 10 and 13 rebounds. Casper Ware exploited seams in the Davis defense to the tune of 8 assists.

The 49ers jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first half and watched it dwindle to 8 at halftime, then began the second half with a 10-1 run and the Aggies were unable to make up any ground. The lead was never threatened.

Aggies star scorers Mark Payne and Joe Harden were held to 22 points on 7-19 shooting, thanks to stifling defense from Larry Anderson and Eugene Phelps, respectively. The 49ers also employed double-teaming schemes and occasionally a 2-3 zone defense to stop the high-powered UC Davis offense. Payne and forward Dominic Calegari lead the Aggies with 16 points apiece.

Long Beach State also found an advantage with their full-court press, which worked wonders in the first half by forcing a sense of urgency in the UC Davis offense. The Aggies had to expend extra energy to simply initiate their offense – not an easy task on the tail end of a grueling road trip. By the end of the first half, Payne and Harden were rarely on the floor at the same time, and the Aggies’ best players were visibly winded.

The 49ers also dominated in two areas that coach Monson said were focus points for his team: inside scoring and defending the three-point line. Monson said that Long Beach State was aiming for 40 points in the paint (they scored 48) and held the Aggies to 0-9 from three-point range in the second half (3-20 for the game).

Long Beach State will have to continue their inspired play this week, as they host a Cal State Fullerton team that dismantled the 49ers earlier in the season.

“We want to get back at them,” Plater said. “They played with a lot of heart last time and we’ve got to come in and show them we’re the better team.”