Oregon 86, Long Beach 74
FINAL
Long Beach falls in Oregon, bringing their record to 5-7 as they head into Big West Conference play this weekend. The 49ers committed 22 turnovers, shot an embarassing 12-21 from the free-throw line and used the three-pointer as a crutch to the tune of 2-11 in the second half and 6-19 in the game. Oregon made 29 free throws to Long Beach’s 12. Other than that, not bad!
Donovan Morris shot 7-15 from the field to lead the 49ers with 18 points, while freshman T.J. Morris scored 17 and nabbd 10 rebounds. Four Ducks scored in double figures, and four more scored between 7 and 9.
Oregon 80, Long Beach 71
0:57 2nd Half
This is going to come down to a free-throw shooting contest, and the Ducks are far and away a better team from the line.
Oregon 78, Long Beach 68
3:29 2nd Half
Larry Anderson drives hard to the hole for the hoop and the harm. Say that three times fast. Long Beach has four freshmen and Gilling in the game as they fight to stay in it without an interior presence. Their 22 turnovers have led to 22 Oregon points.
Oregn 72, Long Beach 61
7:00 2nd Half
Brian Freeman re-entered the game just long enough to foul out. Eugene Phelps, in.
Oregon 72, Long Beach 60
7:11 2nd Half
Down by 20 earlier in the 2nd half, the 49ers have fought back into this one thanks to gritty play by T.J. Robinson and a back-door cut by Greg Plater. The Oregon lead was just nine before their leading scorer Tajuan Porter hit a three for his first points of the game. Man, Long Beach just loves to fall behind then mount the furious comeback. This one has been impressive, but may prove too little too late.
Oregon 68, Long Beach 58
9:00 2nd Half
T.J. Robinson scored four more to cut the Ducks’ lead to ten, but the 49ers then committed consecutive turnovers (bringing their total to 21) and Maurice Clady was called for an intentional foul, giving Oregon two shots and the ball.
Oregon 66, Long Beach 54
12:00 2nd Half
The human dynamite stick that is T.J. Robinson knocked in a free throw, then stole the ball on Long Beach State’s full court press and jammed it home to bring the 49ers within twelve. It may not be much, but it’s a start. Oregon called a timeout to stop the fury (silly Ducks, you can’t stop the fury of T.J. Robinson). They’re sticking with the press.
Oregon 66, Long Beach 50
13:00 2nd Half
T.J. Robinson sighting! The crafty freshman scored consecutive buckets to give the 49ers a little life, but without better ball control, it won’t matter. Long Beach has plenty of time, but will need a ton of luck and great shooting touch to get back in. Morris knocks in a three, so here we go…
Oregon 61, Long Beach 41
15:00 2nd Half
In less than four minutes of play in the second half, the Ducks have gone on a 16-2 run. Long Beach has committed five of their 17 total turnovers during that time, due in no small part to Oregon’s full-court press defense.
Oregon 51, Long Beach 39
18:15 2nd Half
Five Long Beach possessions have resulted in three turnovers and two missed three-point attempts. The 49ers fall behind by 11.
Oregon 48, Long Beach 39
18:42 2nd Half
Brian Freeman has just committed the Cardinal Sin of all basketball Cardinal Sins. The Oregon native turned the ball over and immediately picked up his third foul of the game. On the very next possession, Freeman picked up his fourth foul and was replaced by Andrew Fleming. With four fouls, it’s unlikely that he’ll re-enter the game until the final minutes. Fleming is going to get some serious run in the second half.
The 49ers have called timeout after an Oregon transition bucket, now trailing 48-39.
BIG WEST UPDATE
Cal State Northridge stormed back after halftime to take a 49-40 lead over the Cal State Fullerton Titans, with fifteen minutes remaining in the second half.
Reflecting On The Keys To The Game
With one half under our belts, let’s check on the factors that I selected as the most important heading into this game.
Checking DaJuan – Oregon’s leading scorer has yet to put points on the board
Long Range Accuracy – The 49ers are shooting 66.7% from the field and 50% from three-point range.
The Fab… Nine? – Freshmen are playing a big role, with Long Beach’s babies scoring 16 and Oregon’s 15.
Oregon 45, Long Beach 39
HALF
The 49ers committed twelve turnovers, which ultimately are keeping them from leading this game. Aside from that, though, it’s an absolute barnburner. Long Beach shot 66% from the field, and made 4-8 three pointers. From the line, however, they converted just 3-7, while Oregon excelled at the free throw line, shooting 13-15.
Donovan Morris leads all contestants with 11 points, while Larry Anderson so far leads the battle of the babies with 9 points. Hometown boys Brian Freeman and Greg Plater have added two points each. Ducks leading scorer Tajuan Porter has not scored, though Oregon has displayed a balanced attack led by Garret Sim’s seven points.
Thoughts on the first half thus far?
Oregon 35, Long Beach 32
2:58 1st Half
Shot selection, shot selection shot selection. The Beach is tearing up the box score by shooting 76.2% from the field so far, including three of five from downtown. The Ducks are shooting just a pedestrian 47.2%, but have nailed 11-13 from the line. Man, without those Beach turnovers (which now number ten), the 49ers would be playing about as good as anyone could hope.
Long Beach 32, Oregon 32
4:30 1st Half
Somebody cover and smother Donovan Morris, because he is on fire. The Big West Player of the Week has 11 points with 6:00 to go in the first half, and has scored six of the 49ers’ last ten to tie the game at 32.
Oregon 30, Long Beach 28
6:40 1st Half
Props to “Sparky” in the Comments section, who just provided the link to live stats for the game. You can find them here, or follow along at ESPN here. Of course, you’ll still hang out with me, right? 🙂
Long Beach 26, Oregon 26
9:35 1st Half
Whoopsies. Long Beach State has already committed eight turnovers that have led to twelve Duck points. Despite that hardship, the 49ers have tied the game up at 26 after trailing by six. Porter remains scoreless.
Another interesting sidebar to this game is the fact that 49ers Brian Freeman and Greg Plater are from Oregon, which probably had something to do with Long Beach scheduling this very game. Freeman was a highly touted junior college player, and Plater was named the best point guard in the state during his senior year of high school. Let’s see if the two hometown boys rise to the occassion. Freeman hasn’t yet scored and Plater just checked into the game
Oregon 22, Long Beach 17
12:00 1st Half
Running Freshmen Scoring Totals
Long Beach – 39 (Anderson 14, Robinson 17, Ware 8)
Oregon – 31 (Sim 10, Dunigan 9, Wiley 6, Crittle 6)
We said that the play of freshmen would be a huge factor in this game, so let’s get a tally going. The 49ers have four young’ns, while the Ducks play five (the roster lists six and two redshirt freshmen, though). This could very well be the difference, so here’s a scorecard to keep track.
Long Beach 15, Oregon 11
15:00 1st Half
Five minutes in, and the 49ers are givin’ em the business.
Donovan Morris has scored five and the Ducks’ Tajuan Porter is scoreless. The 49ers got off to a quick start with jump shots, as was noted in the Keys To Victory below.
Another key is the play of the 49ers’ X-Men. Against Temple, it was Stephan Gilling who came off the bench to bag a few jumpers and give Long Beach a spark. Tonight, Cornell Williams got things going with a three early on. Is this the fire that the 49ers need?
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While we let the game get underway a little but, allow me to opine about the 49ers’ rigorous preseason schedule thus far.
This is the last of five (what I would classify as) really tough matchups for the 49ers, especially in terms of talent. BYU, Wisconsin, Syracuse, Temple and Oregon. And only one of those games (Temple) was a home game. So Long Beach has ceratinly had their mettle tested. For the most part, they’ve performed extremely well, competing until the final minute against BYU and Wisconsin, and beating Temple.
So the experience gained from games such as tonight’s against Oregon cannot be accurately judged by the final scores. Would Long Beach have been able to beat Temple if they hadn’t first played the likes of BYU, Wisonsin and Syracuse?
So wouldn’t the experience of playing these five tough teams be an extreme advantage once the 49ers head into the Big West conference, which boasts no other team with a schedule like Long Beach’s?
Tonight we’ll see how much they’ve learned from previous road losses against tough competition, and trust: even though Oregon comes in at 5-6, they’re still tough competition. Two of those losses came to #1 UNC and #6 Texas. Games like these do wonders for Long Beach’s Strength of Schedule rankings. We’ll just have to wait and see if it translates into conference victories.
Oregon 2, Long Beach State 0
19:17 1st Half
Ok, since there are no apparent radio feeds available online, I’m forced to watch the game through ESPN’s Play-by-play system, which you can find here.
Currently, Oregon holds a 2-0 lead less than a minute into the game, in which time the 49ers have picked up two team fouls. We’re off to a rousing start!
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Does anyone have access to the game? All radio and video attempts through LongBeachState.com and the BigWest Gametracker have proven unfruitful. Anybody know how we can all enjoy the game from home?
Welcome, legions of fans. You must all be very excited about tonight’s game against the Oregon Ducks, one week after the 49ers’ thrilling win over Temple. How will Long Beach fare in Eugene? Check out my game preview, and then check back here around 6:45pm as we listen in to the Long Beach State radio broadcast and blog live about the proceedings.
Of course, feel free to share your thoughts in the Comments section and let me know whether or not I’m full of crap. I’ll also be offering Pregame Keys for you to sound off on in a few hours.
See you soon!
TONIGHT’S KEYS
Checking TaJuan
Which 49er will be called upon to defend Oregon’s Tajuan Porter? The small but mighty 5’6″ Porter ranks tenth in the PAC-10 in scoring at 14.6 per, and boasts a lethal jumper paired with blinding quickness. The obvious answer is 5’9″ guard Casper Ware or 5’8″ guard Maurice Clady. But why not Larry Anderson? At 6’6″, Anderson has a full foot on Porter, and has been guarding point guards with effectiveness over the last few games.
Long Range Accuracy
As per coach Dan Monson, the 49ers are a jump-shooting team. Plain and simple. When the bombs are falling, the odds are good. When they’re not falling, well… Montana State. Long Beach State even looked a little sluggish against Temple before Stephan Gilling came in to pop a few jumpers. So look for Long Beach’s long-range effectiveness to gauge their chances tonight.
The Fab… Nine?
Long Beach relies on up to four freshman for quality minutes, but the Ducks play as many as five. This game could fluctuate depending on the play of the young’ns. Will Casper Ware control the flow? Will T.J. Robinson have another breakout game? Will the Ducks be able to cut down on their turnovers? Whichever team’s freshmen play most consistently will have the best chance at victory.