Hatten Scores 19 to Lead 49ers; Boise State Wins Tournament

John Hatten scored 19 points to lead Cal State Long Beach to an 83-75 victory over Southwest Texas State Saturday night in the consolation game of the Albertsons Holiday tournament.

In the championship game, Eric Hayes sparked an early second-half surge that carried Boise State to a 71-56 victory over the University of San Diego.

In the early game, Long Beach (5-4) overpowered Southwest Texas. Besides Hatten’s 10 rebounds and team-high point total, the 49ers got 15 points and 9 rebounds from 6-foot 10-inch DeAnthony Langston, and 14 points and 7 rebounds from swingman Andre Purry.

Purry scored on a dunk, two free throws and a short jump shot in the first three minutes of the second half to give Long Beach a five-point lead that it nursed the rest of the way.

Guard Eliezar Gorden, shut out in the first game by Boise State, scored 19 points to lead Southwest Texas. Willie Mills added 17 points and 8 rebounds, and Marcus Bolden had 11 points and 7 rebounds for the Bobcats (4-4).

In the title game, Boise State’s Hayes scored 8 of his 16 points between 18:40 and 9:23 of the second half, and the Broncos’ aggressive defense forced seven early second-half turnovers by San Diego.

Boise forward Arnell Jones, the tournament’s most valuable player, scored 22 points and pulled down 9 rebounds for the Broncos (7-1). Joining Jones on the media’s all-tournament team were teammates Hayes, and guards Chris Childs and Doug Usitalo, and San Diego center Scott Thompson and forward Nils Madden.

San Diego, which two weeks ago beat Boise State in San Diego, is 5-3.