CS Long Beach Hits Bump on Road and Falls to Aggies

After his first road game in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. Thursday night, Cal State Long Beach Coach Joe Harrington was upset with his team and angry at the officials.

“We caused our own demise,” said Harrington after the 49ers were beaten by Utah State, 86-81, before 6,999 fans at the Spectrum.

“But there’s no excuse for us shooting 17 free throws and them shooting 35,” added Harrington, who received a technical foul for one of his tirades in the second half.

And the first-year 49er coach fired a parting sarcastic shot as he saw officials Al Hackney, Gordon Birk and Jim Banner leave their dressing room:

“You guys ought to have to answer these questions (from reporters). This is what I have to go through.”

Earlier, Harrington endured a game-high 26-point performance by Utah State guard Kevin Nixon.

Bringing the Aggies (8-4 overall, 3-0 in the PCAA) back from a 41-38 halftime deficit, Nixon converted two of his own steals into layups early in the second half that helped produce a 51-46 lead.

“That gave us momentum and got the crowd into the game,” said Utah State Coach Rod Tueller.

Although the game was close most of the final 10 minutes, the 49ers (7-5, 1-2) never recovered from a three-point shot by Reid Newey that gave the Aggies a 71-64 lead with seven minutes left.

But Long Beach kept within striking distance behind the shooting of center DeAnthony Langston, who scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half.

Meanwhile, 49er guard Morlon Wiley went 11 minutes without a basket. Wiley, averaging 27.5 points in his previous four games, was held to 17.

“Jeff Anderson did a good job on Wiley,” said Tueller. “Wiley’s capable of taking over a game, and we didn’t let him.”

But Wiley’s three-pointer cut the lead to 79-75 with 3:11 left and then a follow shot by Rigo Moore cut it to 79-77.

The 49ers couldn’t take advantage of two straight Aggie turnovers. Instead, they made two mistakes of their own: Billy Walker threw a bad pass. Andre Purry was called for charging.

After two free throws by Anderson, Wiley came back with a jump shot and Utah State led, 81-79, and had the ball with 1:06 to play.

With five seconds left on the shot clock, the Aggies’ Dan Conway missed badly on a hurried three-point attempt, but Nixon grabbed the rebound.

Conway got the ball back and powered inside for a three-point play that wrapped up the game with 16 seconds left.

Purry had 17 and Moore added 13 for Long Beach.

“We can win on the road,” insisted Harrington, whose plays at San Jose State Saturday night. “We can play better.”