Long Beach Comes a Long Way Back to Win : 49ers, Down by 22, End Up Beating Loyola Marymount in Overtime, 117-113

Cal State Long Beach may have taken a small step Sunday toward bringing back its glory days in basketball.

In a nonconference game that was as wild as had been expected, Long Beach came from 22 points behind to beat Loyola Marymount, 117-113, in overtime at Long Beach.

Center DeAnthony Langston became the last of many 49er heroes when he scored 8 of his team’s 12 points in overtime.

“This game means a lot to our program,” said Coach Joe Harrington, whose 49ers are suddenly 4-1 and are beginning to consider themselves perhaps the best team in California.

“This is the first game we’ve played before almost a full house (1,727 in the 49er gym),” Harrington said. “ Our goal is to outgrow this gym by the halfway point of the season and move into the (Long Beach) Arena.”

The 49ers’ depth offset a 39-point performance by Loyola center Hank Gathers.

Rudy Harvey came off the bench to lead Long Beach with 25 points. Morlon Wiley scored 20, Langston had 19 points and 14 rebounds. Rigo Moore had 18 points and Jeff Eastin 16.

Gathers had a chance to win the game with one second left in regulation. But with the crowd stomping and screaming, “Air ball,” Gathers missed two free throws.

Langston then made a jumper to start the overtime and give the 49ers their first lead since it was 10-9. He quickly followed with a bank shot and the Lions, unaccustomed to catching up, couldn’t.

“I’m just really proud of the way our guys hung in there,” Harrington said. “At halftime (with the 49ers down by 12), I said we’re going to find out about ourselves today.”

Loyola Coach Paul Westhead, whose team dropped to 3-3, said it was one of those games “you had to be there to see. It was competitive, hard-fought, with a lot of action. We played well enough to win.”

The Lions established control of the game early in the first half. Trailing 10-9, they went on a 19-7 spurt with Jeff Fryer hitting three outside shots, one of them a three-pointer.

Soon after, Gathers took over. Starting with a driving dunk, he had 13 points during a 23-12 run that gave the Lions a 57-35 lead with 4:59 left.

During that time, the Lions showed Long Beach how fast a fast break can be.

“They had one that must have taken two seconds,” Harrington said.

The 49ers, meanwhile, had Wiley and Andre Purry on the bench with foul trouble.

But Harvey, who had been averaging five points a game, used his leaping ability around the offensive basket to provide the impetus which started the 49ers on a very long road back. They outscored the Lions, 17-7, in the last moments of the half.

Still, Loyola, on the strength of 68.6% field-goal shooting, went into the locker room with a 64-52 lead.

But the Lions’ shooting percentage would go down drastically--they made only 43.2% of their field goals in the second half and overtime. And with Long Beach relaxing its press, Loyola’s fast break opportunities became less frequent.

The 49ers whittled the lead--but only as much as they were allowed to by Gathers, who continued to score at will in the lane.

Wiley, who was scoreless at halftime, and Jeff Eastin each hit two three-pointers and Harvey continued to be effective inside.

“We let them back in the game with second shots,” Westhead said. “When you have a nice comfortable lead, second shots are usually the only way the other team can get back in the game.”

But with 9:33 to play, after another muscle shot by Gathers, Loyola still led, 89-80.

The 49ers, who never led in the second half, finally caught up on Rigo Moore’s three-pointer with 4:43 left.

They caught up again at 105 with 19 seconds left when Wiley scored from well beyond the three-point line.

Inevitably, the Lions fed Gathers, who was fouled by John Hatten as he shot from the baseline.

But Gathers missed both foul shots, and Long Beach’s stirring comeback was soon completed.